- O’NEILL HAS HOT ROD READY FOR ‘A GREAT RACE’
- JOHNNY V’S SANTA ANITA SUBS INHERIT THE WINS
- POWELL MAY RUN TWO IN MARATHON SANTA ANA
- JACKPOT PAYS $26,755.70 TO 112 WINNING TICKETS
SANTA ANITA FLAVOR PERVADES DUBAI WORLD CUP
With Advance Wagering offered this Friday, there will be a strong sense of Santa Anita when the $12 million Dubai World Cup is run Saturday at Meydan Racecourse.
The two favorites for the 26th edition of the Group 1 classic at about 1 1/8 miles, Hot Rod Charlie and Life Is Good, both have an intrinsic connection to The Great Race Place.
Santa Anita is Hot Rod Charlie’s home track, while Life Is Good displayed his world-class potential at the historic Arcadia oval as a three-year-old when trained by Bob Baffert, winning the Grade III Sham Stakes and the Grade II San Felipe Stakes.
The eyes of the racing will be focused on the Dubai World Cup, which offers the winner $7.2 million. The entire World Cup program airs Saturday on TVG starting at 4:30 a.m. Pacific Time.
“We’re optimistic,” said Doug O’Neill, trainer of Hot Rod Charlie, a four-year-old son of Oxbow who already has earned $2,721,200 with a 4-3-3 record from 14 career starts.
O’Neill is well aware Hot Rod will have something to pursue in Life Is Good, now trained by Todd Pletcher and winner of six of seven races including a dominant front-running score over Horse of the Year Knicks Go in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational presented by 1/ST BET at Gulfstream Park Jan. 29.
“Flavien (Prat, who rides Hot Rod Charlie) knows the horse well, so we’re optimistic for a good run,” O’Neill said from Santa Anita Sunday morning prior to leaving for Dubai on Tuesday.
“Our staff has been showing Hot Rod a lot of love every day they’ve been with him in Dubai,” O’Neill added. “He’s ready to go.
“It’s going to be a great race.”
JOHNNY V’S OPEN MOUNTS A BOON TO LOCAL JOCKS
John Velazquez was named on four horses Saturday at Santa Anita, but instead fulfilled a commitment for trainer Wesley Ward at The Fair Grounds on multiple graded stakes winner Bound for Nowhere in the ninth race, leaving his local mounts in need of riders.
Johnny V.’s road trip paid off.
In what amounted to a paid workout for bigger things to come, Velazquez won the 5 ½-furlong $49,000 optional claiming event on turf by 1 ¼ lengths on the millionaire 8-year-old by The Factor. Meanwhile, Johnny V’s four Santa Anita mounts were distributed among three locally-based jocks and three of them, all longshots–won, a long distance credit to his agent Ron Anderson.
Juan Hernandez filled in for Velazquez on Shes’a Perfectlady in Santa Anita’s first race, paying $16.60, followed by Funny Feline ($12.60) in the fourth under Mike Smith, and Loud Mouth ($15) in the seventh with Hernandez in the irons again.
Only Exultation with Victor Espinoza aboard in the ninth race failed reach the winner’s circle, finishing sixth at 7-2 in a blanket finish, beaten just 2 ½ lengths.
SANTA ANA HAS A FRENCH CONNECTION
Leonard Powell has two horses nominated to this Saturday’s Grade III Santa Ana Stakes for fillies and mares and could enter each in the 1 ¼-mile marathon on the hillside turf course.
Both females are French-bred, Keyflower, a four-year-old filly, and Neige Blanche, a five-year-old mare, so Powell, himself a native of France, is well-familiar with their acclimation process.
“They came to the U.S. at different times,” Powell said, “and Neige is a year older, but both did acclimate very well.”
Keyflower showed her prowess when she made her U.S. debut in October 2021, finishing sixth but beaten less than two lengths at 53-1 in the Grade I E.P. Taylor at Woodbine, before winning an overnight mile race on grass at Santa Anita Feb. 19.
Neige Blanche has four wins in the U.S. including Santa Anita’s Grade III Astra Stakes at a mile and a half on turf Jan. 17.
Juan Hernandez retains the mount on Neige Blanche, while Abel Cedillo fills in for Flavien Prat on Keyflower, as the 29-year-old Frenchman rides Hot Rod Charlie in the Dubai World Cup.
Neige Blanche worked four furlongs this morning in 49.80 while Keyflower went five furlongs in 1:01.40.
RAINBOW PICK SIX JACKPOT PAYS $26,755.70
With more than $3.4 million in new money wagered Saturday and a carryover from Friday of $395,500, Santa Anita’s 20-cent Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot pool totaled $3,796,529 at fourth-race post time Saturday.
There was a mandatory payout in place and just one winning post time favorite, resulting in 112 winning tickets, each worth a hefty $26,755.70.
FINISH LINES: There were 193 recorded workouts this morning including two by Bob Baffert-trained Triple Crown hopefuls, Robert B. Lewis Stakes winner Messier going four furlongs in 48.60 and San Felipe runner-up Doppelganger getting six furlongs in a bullet 1:10.80 . . . Spring Training is on and one of baseball’s all-time greatest names was brought to mind yesterday, as the 4-year-old gelding Koufax was entered in Saturday’s seventh race at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. A Kentucky-bred by Conveyance, Koufax has two wins from 11 starts but did not draw into the one mile turf allowance…Santa Anita will be dark for live racing Monday through Thursday. Live racing resumes at 1 p.m. Friday, March 25.
LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:
FEATURES:
Preview of The Sensational Star Stakes
Preview of Race 5
WORKOUTS:
Dream Shake (Eurton) 3-19-22
Gold Dragon Queen (Baltas) 3-19-22
Gregorian Chant (Outside), Motorious (Middle) and Overdue (D’Amato) 3-19-22
Its Big (Outside) and At the Spa (Periban) 3-19-22
American Theorem (Papaprodromou) 3-18-22
Q B One (Outside) R. Mandella) and Vivacious Vanessa (G. Mandella) 3-18-22
Cezanne (Outside) and Uncle Magic (Baffert) 3-18-22
Bob and Jackie (Baltas) 3-18-22
Subconscious (Mandella) 3-18-22
Clearly Gone (Wong) 3-18-22
La La Land (Callaghan) 3-18-22
Royal Ship (Outside) and Charlito (Mandella) 3-17-22
Miss Bella Ciao (Outside) and First Point (Drysdale) 3-17-22
Floral Essence (Mullins) 3-17-22
