- BIG ‘CAP IS STILL ELECTRIC FOR JOHN SHIRREFFS
- RACING RARELY GETS ANY BETTER THAN THIS DAY
- FORBIDDEN KINGDOM TRIES TWO TURNS IN SAN FELIPE
- MANDELLA REMEMBERS RACING’S FRANK E. KILROE
- 1/ST RACING SISTER TRACKS OFFER A MEGA-DAY SATURDAY
- CAL-BRED STRAIGHT UP G VICTORIOUS ON SUNDAY
SANTA ANITA HANDICAP PRESENTED BY YAAMAVA’ IS SANTA ANITA
It’s going on half a century since John Shirreffs served his country in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War before being honorably discharged and heading to Hawaii to become a surfer.
But first he stopped in California, eventually walking hots for trainer Gene Cleveland and later breaking yearlings for Ed Nahem at Lakeview Thoroughbred Farm. He got his trainer’s license in 1978 and the rest is history.
His lengthy legacy includes winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby with 50-1 outsider Giacomo, and masterfully crowning it with the once-in-a-lifetime mare Zenyatta, winner of 19 straight races in dramatic come-from-behind fashion that has to be seen to be believed, before losing for the first time in her 20th start and career finale by a head to Blame in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Her career is a movie waiting to happen.
Fast forward to Saturday, when Shirreffs, now 76, will saddle favored Express Train in a bid to win the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino.
It is Santa Anita’s marquee race for older horses, emblazoned with a rich history since first run in 1935 when captured by Azucar, ridden by George (The Iceman) Woolf.
Other luminous winners are a Who’s Who of racing, among them Seabiscuit (1940), Noor (1950), Round Table (1958), Ack Ack (1971), Cougar II (1973), Affirmed (1979), Spectacular Bid 1980), John Henry (1981 & 82), Alysheba (1988), Best Pal (1992), Tiznow (2001), Lava Man (2006 & 07) and Game On Dude (2011, 2014 & 14).
Shirreffs, long and lean with an ever-present baseball cap, hopes Express Train joins that elite group Saturday, when he breaks from post six in a field of eight going a mile and a quarter.
“I think post position makes a difference, but ours is very good,” said Shirreffs, who almost won his first Big ‘Cap last year when Express Train led but was caught late by Idol and finished second by a half-length.
Otherwise, the son of Union Rags, still a full horse at age five, has been ultra-consistent with a 6-4-3 record from 16 starts, earning $935,800 for owner C R K Stable LLC.
Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms LLC, the bay has an advantageous style, usually in close attendance to the pace before making a winning run through the stretch.
“Around the barn, he’s like a lot of really good race horses,” Shirreffs said. “He’s got a lot of energy, he’s sharp, he’s on his toes, but you don’t want to ad lib with him. You don’t want to do anything he doesn’t expect.
“I hope there’s a little speed in the race and we can sit a bit off it if all goes well. We’re really happy with Express Train, how he’s doing now and what he’s accomplished.”
The Big ‘Cap is a race every trainer desires to have on his or her resume, and Shirreffs is no exception. Although he was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, he has been entrenched in California for decades, making his home in Arcadia.
He can still harken back to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
“When you think of Santa Anita, the race that comes to mind is always the Santa Anita Handicap,” Shirreffs said. “I’ve been here when 60,000 people were in the stands watching the race.
“You couldn’t even see the horses. The only way you knew they were coming into the stretch was by hearing this wall of noise coming towards you as they approached.
“It was electric in those days.”
The field for the 85th edition of the $650,000 Big ‘Cap which goes as the 11th and final race with a 12 noon first post time: Spielberg, Abel Cedillo; Why Why Paul Why, Juan Hernandez; Warrant, Flavien Prat; Soy Tapatio, Diego Herrera; American Theorem, Mike Smith; Express Train, Victor Espinoza; Kiss Today Goodbye, Kyle Frey; and Stilleto Boy, John Velazquez.
EARLY 12 NOON FIRST POST ON 1/ST SATURDAY AT SANTA ANITA
Santa Anita and Gulfstream’s inaugural 1/ST Saturday, featuring a total of 15 bicoastal stakes and 11 races locally, will start early, with first post time set for 12 noon. Admission gates will open Saturday at 10 a.m.
Santa Anita’s first stakes race, the Grade II, $200,000 San Carlos Stakes presented by Fan Duel, has been carded as race four. The 1/ST Saturday program will reach a crescendo with the 11th and final race on the card, the 85th running of the Grade I, $650,000 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino.
Fans will be treated to virtually non-stop action throughout the festive afternoon, to wit: the Grade II Buena Vista Stakes for older fillies and mares at a mile on turf in race five; the Grade II San Felipe Stakes for Triple Crown hopefuls in race six; the Grade I Beholder Mile in the ninth event; and the Grade I Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf in the 10th race.
Santa’s Anita’s six 1/ST Saturday stakes offer a combined $2.45 million in prize money, with races four through six to air on national television.
FORBIDDEN KINGDOM STRETCHES OUT IN SAN FELIPE
Coming off four straight sprints, leading in each one, Forbidden Kingdom is likely to be in front when he tries two turns for the first time in Saturday’s San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
“He is probably the speed,” admitted Richard Mandella, who trains the chestnut son of 2015 Triple Crown king American Pharoah for MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm LLC. “He’s just naturally fast. We’re just going to hope he can go that far.”
Forbidden Kingdom blew out three furlongs today in 37.20.
The San Felipe offers 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner, 20 to the runner-up, 10 to the third-place finisher and five to the fourth.
The San Felipe, race six: Happy Jack, Abel Cedillo; Worse Read Sanchez, Mario Gutierrez; Armagnac, John Velazquez; Beautiful Art, Mike Smith; Doppelganger, Flavien Prat; Forbidden Kingdom, Juan Hernandez; and Cabo Spirit, Victor Espinoza.
MANDELLA REMEMBERS LATE, GREAT KILROE
Santa Anita honors one of its iconic figures with the running of the 63rd Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf Saturday.
Kilroe was Santa Anita’s racing secretary and handicapper from 1953 to 1990, and deeply involved in racing until 1989 when he suffered the first of several strokes.
He retired from Santa Anita the following year and passed away in 1996, leaving a legacy of accomplishments few have ever matched. Kilroe was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2019 as a Pillar of the Turf.
Richard Mandella remembers him fondly.
“He was the Director of Racing when I started training,” said Mandella, who began his career in 1974. “I always thought he was one of the most influential people in racing during his era.”
Mandella, now 71 and himself a member of the Hall of Fame since 2001, sends out Twilight Derby winner Subconscious in the Kilroe, which he has won in the past with Leger Cat in 1993, Atticus in 1997, Redattore in 2003 and Bal a Bali in 2017.
The Kilroe, which goes as race 10: Delaware, Mike Smith; Subconscious, Juan Hernandez; Beyond Brilliant, Victor Espinoza; Count Again, Flavien Prat; Whisper Not, Ramon Vazquez; Law Professor, Abel Cedillo; Tell our Daddy, John Velazquez; Space Traveller, J.P. Spencer; Team Merchants, Mario Gutierrez; Flavius, Umberto Rispoli; Bob and Jackie, Jose Valdivia Jr.; and Vanzzy, Edwin Maldonado.
SATURDAY A BIG DAY FOR 1/ST RACING SISTER TRACKS
Saturday is an unprecedented racing day for 1/ST sister tracks Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park.
The Grade I Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino is but one of three Grade I events to be decided at The Great Race Place that day, the others being the Beholder Mile for fillies and mares four and up, and the Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf for four-year-olds and up.
Supporting the prestigious program are three Grade II races, the San Felipe Stakes for three-year-old Triple Crown prospects at 1 1/16 miles; the San Carlos Stakes presented by Fan Duel for sprinters four and older at seven furlongs; and the Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares four and older at a mile on grass.
Santa Anita’s six graded stakes offer a combined $2.45 million on an 11-race program that has a 12 noon first post time.
The $400,000, Grade II Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth headlines the program at Gulfstream Park, providing three three-year-old prospects a steppingstone to the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby (Grade I) on April 2 and the 2022 Triple Crown.
The 76th running of the tradition-rich stakes will also be featured in a mega promotion between Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita, which will play host to a combined 15 graded stakes worth $4.15 million that day.
Gulfstream will offer nine graded stakes worth $1.7 million in purses, while Santa Anita’s card will be graced by six graded-stakes worth $2.45 million.
A Coast to Coast All Turf Stakes Pick 5 and a Coast to Coast All Dirt Stakes Pick 5, each with legs run at Gulfstream and Santa Anita, will be among the highlights of the 1/ST promotion. A free contest will offer a $5 million jackpot for an entry or entries with all 15 graded/stakes winners.
In addition to the Fountain Youth at Gulfstream, the $200,000 Davona Dale (Grade II), a mile race for 3-year-old fillies; $200,000 WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile (Grade II), a mile stakes for 4-year-olds and up; and the $200,000 Mac Diarmida (Grade II), a 1 3/8-mile turf stakes for older horses will be offered.
The following Gulfstream stakes support Saturday’s program: the $150,000 Canadian Turf (Grade III), a mile race for four-year-olds and up; $150,000 Honey Fox (Grade III), a mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares; $150,000 The Very One (Grade III), a 1 3/8-mile turf test for older fillies and mares; $125,000 Herecomesthebride (Grade III), a mile turf event for three-year-old fillies; and the $125,000 Palm Beach (Grade III), a mile turf stakes for three-year-olds.
FINISH LINES: While Flavien Prat has a daylight lead over Juan Hernandez in Santa Anita’s jockey standings at 57-34, the trainers’ race is thistight, as Phil D’Amato and Bob Baffert are deadlocked with 21 victories each and Doug O’Neill is one back with 20 . . . Congrats to Jungle Racing’s Jim and Janet Rome, as their California homebred Straight Up G, who is trained by Richard Baltas, took Sunday’s $100,000 Mine That Bird Derby under Ricky Gonzalez at Sunland Park…Horseplayer Tim Downs will be Tom Quigley‘s guest Friday, 11:20 a.m. in the East Paddock Gardens; former NHL player, broadcast analyst and Thoroughbred racing enthusiast Ed Olczyk will do honors Saturday at 10:50 a.m., and Horseplayer Dylan Donnelly will be on board Sunday at 11:20 a.m.
LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:
WORKOUTS:
Messier (Outside) and Blackadder (Baffert) 2-28-22
Frontier Market (Sadler) 2-28-22
McLaren Vale (Outside) and Heels Up (Baffert) 2-28-22
Warrens Candy Man (Lewis) 2-28-22
Migration (Outside) and Moonlight d’Oro (Mandella) 2-28-22
Merneith (Baffert) 2-28-22
Beyond Brilliant (Shirreffs) 2-27-22
Edgeway (Sadler) 2-27-22
Henley’s Joy (Baltas) (Outside) & Muy Chistosa (Mullins) 2-27-22
Its Big (Outside) and At the Spa (Periban) 2-27-22
Ain’t Easy (Outside) and Phantom Dance (D’Amato) 2-27-22
Cezanne (Outside) and Spielberg (Baffert) 2-27-22
Count Again (Outside) Flintmore (D’Amato) 2-27-22
Leggs Galore & Gregory’s Pride (Outside) D’Amato 2-27-22
Express Train (Shirreffs) 2-27-22
