Nysos, who dominated in the Lewis, is ready to run in the San Felipe. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
> Linda’s Gift, Kings River Knight Extend Win Streaks
> Crack Sprinter Straight No Chaser Returns To Work Tab
> Santa Anita Jockeys, Holy Angels Charity Hoops Game Today!
Santa Anita Stable Notes By Victor Ryan
A quartet of 3-year-olds nominated to next Saturday’s GII San Felipe and five older horses eyeing the GI Santa Anita Handicap on the same day all registered workouts Sunday at Santa Anita.
Of the combined nine nominees to work, five are trained by Bob Baffert. The 3-year-olds on the tab for Baffert were Nysos, Maymun and Cornell.
Unbeaten Nysos, most recently a 7 1/2-length winner of the GIII Robert B. Lewis here Feb. 3, drilled five furlongs in 1:00.20. Maymun, who improved to 2-for-2 with a neck victory over stablemate Imagination in a one-mile allowance here Feb. 11, worked six furlongs in 1:13.00.
Cornell, a one-mile maiden winner here Jan. 28, worked four furlongs in 49.20 seconds.
Baffert also has nominated to the San Felipe Imagination, Wine Me Up, Wynstock, Coach Prime and Muth.
Also working towards a potential San Felipe start was Tapalo for trainer John Sadler. Most recently second in the 1 1/8-mile El Camino Real Derby on Feb. 10 at Golden Gate, the Tapiture ridgling went four furlongs in 48.0 seconds.
Working Sunday towards potential starts in the 1 ¼-mile Big Cap were Newgate and Mr Fisk for Baffert, Subsanador (ARG) for Sadler, Newgrange for trainer Phil D’Amato and Mixto for Doug O’Neill.
Newgate, most recently second to Newgrange in last month’s GII San Pasqual at 1 1/8 miles, worked a bullet when completing six furlongs in 1:12.00. Newgrange, who won his second straight graded stakes and fourth overall in the San Pasqual, also fired a bullet when going five furlongs in 59.00 seconds.
Mixto was third in the San Pasqual behind Newgrange and Newgate. The 4-year-old Good Magic colt went five furlongs in 1:00.40.
Mr Fisk, who was fifth in the San Pasqual, worked five furlongs in 1:01.20. Subsanador, who was the beaten favorite in the Dec. 26 GII San Pasqual in his U.S. bow Dec. 26, had a stout seven-furlong work completed in 1:25.80.
In addition to the Big Cap and San Felipe, this Saturday’s blockbuster card also features the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile and GII Buena Vista for older fillies and mares. Both are at a mile on turf.
The fields for Saturday’s card will be drawn on Wednesday.
Linda’s Gift, Kings River Knight Extend Win Streaks
Linda’s Gift won her third straight stakes in Saturday’s GIII Santa Ana and top California-bred Kings River Knight made it four straight victories when knocking off open company in a second-level allowance.
Trained by Richard Mandella, Linda’s Gift rolled to a 3 ¾-length win under Tiago Pereira in the 1 ¼-mile Santa Ana on turf. The 5-year-old Arrogate mare previously won the GIII Red Carpet at 1 3/8 miles at Del Mar Nov. 23 and the 1 ½-mile Astra Stakes here Jan. 21.
Linda’s Gift now has a record of 5-2-2 in 13 starts with $314,936 in earnings.
Kings River Knight, a five-time statebred stakes winner for trainer John Sadler, had no problem beating open allowance foes when going a mile on turf. With Juan Hernandez in the irons, Kings River Knight broke on top and led at every call for a dominant 2 ¼-length win.
A 6-year-old gelding by Acclamation, Kings River Knight now has $589,830 in earnings for owners Integrity Thoroughbred Racing LLC, The Ellwood Johnston Trust and Kenneth A. Tevelde. His record stands at 9-5-0 in 15 starts.
Crack Sprinter Straight No Chaser Returns To Work Tab
A busy Saturday morning at Santa Anita included the first timed workout of the year by Straight No Chaser, who has been sidelined since last May’s brilliant victory in the GIII Maryland Sprint Championship at Pimlico.
Straight No Chaser earned a lofty 107 Beyer Speed Figure when crushing the field by 7 ½ lengths in the Maryland Sprint going six furlongs on the Preakness Stakes undercard. Shortly after the victory, trainer Dan Blacker revealed an “area of concern” had been discovered in Straight No Chaser’s left front fetlock via a PET scan conducted on-site at Santa Anita.
Straight No Chaser was subsequently sent to the farm to recover. He returned to light training at Santa Anita in December. On Saturday, the 5-year-old full horse by Speightster was clocked going a quarter mile in 25.0 seconds.
Also working were multiple horses nominated to next Saturday’s GI Santa Anita Handicap and GII San Felipe for 3-year-olds. Drilling towards potential starts in the Big Cap were Reincarnate (5f, 59.80) for Bob Baffert, I’m A Gambler (5f, 1:01.20) for trainer Mark Glatt and Salesman (7f, 1:25.80) for Richard Mandella.
Working towards potential starts in the San Felipe were Wine Me Up (5f, 1:00.80) for Baffert, Scatify (5f, 1:02.40) for Mandella, Moonlit Sonata (4f, 49.40) for trainer Tim Yakteen, McVay (5f, 59.80) for trainer John Shirreffs and Island Cruiser (5f, 59.20) for John Sadler.
Santa Anita Jockeys, Holy Angels Charity Hoops Game Today!
A time-honored tradition dating back more than five decades, the 54th annual Santa Anita Jockeys vs. Holy Angels Middle School Charity Basketball Game will be held Monday, at La Salle High School in nearby Pasadena.
The La Salle High gymnasium will open to the public at 6 p.m. and tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Admission tickets will be available on-site and a $5 donation will generate proceeds to the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF) and Holy Angels athletics.
A distinguished group of Hall of Fame jockeys will be on-hand beginning at 6:30 p.m. to sign posters and other memorabilia courtside. Three HOF jockeys, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Corey Nakatani and Mike Smith will be available for pre-game autographs.
Tickets may be purchased at the door. For additional information, please contact Angela Valenzuela at aavalenz@gmail.com
FINISH LINES _________________
A bettor or bettors plunged into the show pools Saturday, laying massive wagers on four separate heavy favorites to finish in the top three. The mystery bettor or bettors connected on the first three races, but things went sideways in the sixth when Vegas Burner finished off the board at 6-5.. The resulting show payouts were $6.20 for winner Yellow Brick (7-2 win odds), $22.60 for runner-up Aschcroft (30-1) and $9 for third-place finisher Appreciate Today (4-1)…
Veteran conditioner James Cassidy won his first race at the Classic Meet Saturday with Princess Snow ($9.40) in the third race…
Jockey Tyler Baze is nearing the top 10 of the jockey’s standings after winning two races on Friday. He scored with Elevado ($8.20) in the second race for trainer Sean McCarthy and Irish Wahine ($23.20) in the eighth race for trainer Gary Stute, giving him eight victories at the Classic Meet…
Flavien Prat and Juan Hernandez remain tied atop the jockey’s standings with 32 wins each entering Saturday’s action. Prat was not at Santa Anita this week as he’s in Saudi Arabia for the rich Saudi Cup card. Hernandez will also miss Sunday’s card at Santa Anita as he serves a one-day suspension for a riding infraction…
Live racing at Santa Anita resumes on Friday. Every Friday during the Classic Meet,on-track fans will receive free admission and parking plus $3 beers and $5 margaritas.
