- RED BARON’S & TEMESCAL NEAR OWNERS’ TITLE
- D’AMATO ADDS TO TRAINING MARK WITH 3 WINS
- BIG MANDATORY EXOTIC PAYOUTS LOOM TODAY
- AUTUMN MEET HAS PREPONDERANCE OF STAKES
OWNERS’ TITLE GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE
With two wins on the penultimate day of the Winter/Spring Meet Saturday, Red Baron’s Barn LLC and Rancho Temescal LLC are in prime position to capture the owners’ title, leading with 22 victories, three more than runner-up Hronis Racing LLC and four more than third-place Reddam Racing LLC.
Yesterday’s victories were by Annie’s Song in the fourth race and Miss Mensa in the fifth, both trained by Mark Glatt.
Hronis Racing and Reddam Racing each has three horses entered on closing day.
D’AMATO ENHANCES SANTA ANITA TRAINING MARK
Phil D’Amato, who set a Santa Anita meet record with his 57th winner Friday, increased his total to 61 with three more victories Saturday, each on the turf and each ridden by Umberto Rispoli.
D’Amato is likely to add to his impressive total today as he has seven horses entered on the 11-race program.
D’Amato established the Santa Anita record Friday when Carpe Vinum rallied for a 2 ¼ length victory in the $72,000 allowance feature, presented as race seven.
The victory enabled the San Pedro native to surpass the previous mark of 56 wins established by Doug O’Neill in 2006-07.
“It’s a great feeling,” said D’Amato after breaking the record. “I wasn’t expecting it or counting the wins, but it’s just a testament to all my people.
“A total team effort, from my assistants, exercise riders and grooms on down. And most importantly, my owners and the kinds of horses they’re giving me to be able to do this.”
D’Amato also leads all trainers in stakes wins with 15.
MANDATORY RAINBOW SIX POOL COULD HIT $3 MILLION
With no Single Ticket winner in Santa Anita’s popular 20 cent Single Ticket Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot on Saturday, there is a carryover of $330,680 into closing day and track officials expect today’s total Rainbow Six pool, with a mandatory payout, will reach the $3 million mark.
First post time for today’s 11-race card is 1 p.m. and assigned post time for race six, the beginning of the Rainbow Six, is 3:36 p.m.
With 101 horses entered in the Rainbow Six sequence, the average field size is10 runners per race.
AUTUMN MEET OFFERS 26 STAKES IN 18 DAYS
Santa Anita’s 18-day Autumn meet which begins Friday, Sept. 30, will be highlighted by 26 stakes, 15 of them graded. Overnight purses remain the same as last year.
Most all stakes purses are the same as in 2021, with the following exceptions: both the Golden State Juvenile and the Golden State Juvenile Fillies have had purses increased from $150,000 to $175,000, while the Unzip Me and the Anoakia have purses of $85,000, up from $75,000 last year. Additionally, two restricted stakes, the Swingtime and the Lure, now offer purse money of $80,000, an increase of $10,000 each.
The 2022 Autumn Meet stakes schedule will include five Breeders’ Cup “Win & You’re In” stakes over the first two weekends, Oct. 1 & 2 and Oct. 8 & 9, all significant preps to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Racecourse Nov. 4 & 5. These include three Grade I events, the $300,000 Awesome Again on Oct. 1 and the $300,000 American Pharoah and the $300,000 Rodeo Drive, both on Oct. 8.
Thanks to the Breeders’ Cup, the Autumn Meet will get off to a fast start, with 11 stakes, seven of them graded, offered opening weekend, Oct. 1 & 2. The second weekend, Oct. 8 & 9, features six stakes, five of them graded.
The Grade I Awesome Again Stakes is a prep to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic; the Grade I American Pharoah is a prep to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; and the Grade I Rodeo Drive Stakes is a prep to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
The Grade I Awesome Again headlines a tremendous day of stakes on Oct, 1, supported by five additional added money events: the Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course; the Grade II, $200,000 John Henry Stakes for 3-year-olds and older at 1 ¼ miles on turf; the Grade II, $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship at six furlongs; the Grade II, $200,000 City of Hope Mile on turf for 3-year-olds and up and the $85,000 Unzip Me for 3-year-old fillies at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf.
On Sunday, Oct. 2, five stakes will be offered, the Grade II, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles; the Grade III, $100,000 Chillingworth Stakes for fillies & mares three and up at 6 ½ furlongs; the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on turf, the 100,000 Tokyo City Cup for 3-year-olds and up at 1 ½ miles (which has been permanently moved to the Autumn Meet as a prep to Breeders’ Cup Marathon races) and the $100,000 Senator Ken Maddy, for fillies and mares three and up at about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course.
Four California-bred Stakes, the California Distaff ($125,000) on Oct. 15; the California Flag ($125,000) on Oct. 16; the Golden State Juvenile ($175,000) on Oct. 29 and the Golden State Juvenile Fillies ($175,000) on Oct. 29, will again provide local owners and breeders’ ample added money opportunities through closing day, Nov. 6.
Santa Anita’s complete 2022 Autumn Stakes schedule will be available soon at santaanita.com/horsemen. For additional information, call the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574-6352.
FINISH LINES: Santa Anita will honor leading rider Juan Hernandez and top trainer Phil D’Amato with a pair of Winner’s Circle interviews following races one and three, respectively…There were 168 recorded workouts this morning, including a bullet five-furlong breeze in 59.60 by Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba for trainer Sean McCarthy. It was the fastest of 45 drills at the distance, the average time of which was 1:01.78.
LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:
FEATURES:
Preview of Race 4
Preview of Race 5
Preview of Race 9
Preview of Race 10
WORKOUTS:
Express Train (Shirreffs) 6-18-22
Grace Adler (Outside) and Murray (S. McCarthy) 6-18-22
Beef Winslow (O’Neill) 6-18-22
Becca Taylor (Miyadi) 6-17-22
Amiko Chow (Drysdale) 6-17-22
Tizamagician (Mandella) 6-17-22
Norah’s Princess (Lewis) 6-17-22
Savile Row (Outside) and Rockefeller (S.McCarthy) 6-16-22
Soothsay (Mandella) 6-16-22
Sumo (Outside) and Pinehurst (S. McCarthy) 6-16-22
Catemaco (Mullhall) 6-16-22
Bran (Sadler) 6-16-22
Petruchio (Outside) and Ecrivain (Mandella) 6-15-22
Going Global (D’Amato) 6-13-22
Shaaz (Inside) (S.McCarthy) 6-13-22
