SANTA ANITA LEADERS
(Through Thursday)
Jockeys / Wins
Antonio Fresu / 21
Juan Hernandez / 20
Umberto Rispoli / 18
Kyle Frey / 17
Edwin Maldonado / 15
Trainers / Wins
Mark Glatt / 11
Phil D’Amato / 11
Steve Knapp / 10
Doug O’Neill / 10
John Sadler / 9
WEEKEND STAKES
SANTA ANITA
Saturday
• $200,000, Grade II Triple Bend Stakes, 4-year-olds and up, 7 furlongs
• $100,000, Grade III Honeymoon Stakes, 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/8 miles on turf
Sunday
• $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes, fillies and mares, 4 and up, 6 furlongs
DOWN THE STRETCH
• Santa Anita’s stakes Saturday have horses trying to climb the class ladder. Big City Lights (Kyle Frey riding), winner of the Grade III Palos Verdes Stakes last time out, shoots for a third win in a row in a four-horse edition of the Grade II Triple Bend. Shiloh’s Mistress (Umberto Rispoli) and Circle of Trust (Antonio Fresu), second and third to Medoro in the Grade III Providencia, seek a first stakes win in the Grade III Honeymoon.
• Art Wilson, the horse-racing writer for this and other Southern California News Group papers who died Feb. 18 at age 71, will be honored with a race named for him at Santa Anita on Sunday.
• Santa Anita named Jeff Siegel morning-line oddsmaker to succeed Jon White, who announced his retirement effective at the end of this season June 16. Siegel is a widely respected handicapper who has made selections for the Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune as well as on track websites and TV shows.
• Juan Hernandez was Santa Anita’s hottest jockey last week, riding six winners to move up to second in the standings. Hernandez won the Crystal Water Stakes with Kings River Knight and the Snow Chief Stakes with Shady Tiger among four victories Saturday, and the Santa Margarita Stakes with Adare Manor on Sunday.
• Up To Party is the fastest qualifier for the June 16 Ed Burke Million Futurity at Los Alamitos after running 350 yards in 17.583 seconds in one of 12 trials Sunday. Up To Party and Fear N Fridays (17.77) were both ridden by leading quarter-horse jockey Armando Cervantes; they and Laredeaux (17.831) were saddled by top quarter-horse trainer Monty Arrosa.
• The Belmont Stakes on June 8 is the target for at least a dozen, according to reports. Confirmed are Preakness winner Seize the Grey, Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, Honor Marie and Dornich. Under consideration are Derby winner Mystik Dan, Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna, Fierceness, Tuscan Gold, Antiquarian, Batten Down, Mindframe, Protective and The Wine Steward.
• Frustration continues at Golden Gate Fields as the Albany, Calif., track nears its final day June 9. There’s no racing Friday, making it the sixth card to be canceled in April and May because too few horses were entered.
Related Articles
Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Friday, May 31, 2024
Hollywood Gold Cup winner’s surgery ‘went well’
Mr Fisk wins Hollywood Gold Cup before ‘minor’ injury
Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Monday, May 27, 2024
Adare Manor romps in Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita
• The Santa Anita maiden race won by Eagles Flight, half-brother of 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, was delayed a few minutes Monday. Jockey Flavien Prat came out in the wrong silks and had to change to the tan and green of Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Equine, the 3-year-old’s breeder and part-owner. “I thought it was important to have that corrected,” trainer John Sadler said. “That was part of the original plan with the breeder, that he was going to run in her silks.”
• The Chosen Vron’s connections were presented the trophy for winning the Thor’s Echo Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday by Doug O’Neill, who trained Thor’s Echo to his 2006 Breeders’ Cup Sprint victory. O’Neill expressed admiration for The Chosen Vron, the 6-year-old California-bred star. “He’s truly an exceptional horse, isn’t he?” O’Neill said. “Those horses are like Mick Jagger in the music world. They put on their pants the same way as we do, but just the way they carry themselves is unique.”
— Kevin Modesti
