STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN__THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 2024 __
- •STAKES-CALIBER OLDER HORSES MEET IN FRIDAY FEATURE- •10-RACE CARD, INFIELD PARTY, WINE TASTING AND MORE SATURDAY- • FRESU, HERNANDEZ DEADLOCKED IN JOCKEY’S RACE- •FUELED BY CARRYOVER, SUNDAY’S $1 PICK 6 RETURNS $16,593
STAKES-CALIBER OLDER HORSES MEET IN FRIDAY FEATUREFriday’s nine-race card at Santa Anita is highlighted by a $57,000 allowance/optional claimer at six furlongs on grass featuring multiple horses with stakes form.
The 5-2 favorite on the morning line is Behind Enemy Lines, a new face on the Southern California circuit. Behind Enemy Lines makes both his local and seasonal bow for trainer Phil D’Amato. As a 3-year-old last year, the colt was a Grade II-placed stakes winner in the east while trained by Jack Sisterson.
Bred in England, Behind Enemy Lines won the Cutler Bay Stakes going 7 ½ furlongs on turf at Gulfstream Park in April and was second in the GII Penn Mile in June. He has not started since a fifth-place finish in the GII Franklin-Simpson going 6 ½ furlongs at Kentucky Downs last September.
Behind Enemy Lines, who will have Antonio Fresu aboard, has worked nine times since April 10 for his seasonal bow.
Also returning from a lengthy layoff is Agency for trainer Mark Glatt. The 4-year-old Bolt d’Oro colt has been sidelined since last August when he finished third in the GIII La Jolla going 1 1/16 miles on turf at Del Mar. Agency will be ridden by Abel Cedillo, who recently relocated from Kentucky.
Catalina Eddy (5-1) and Daniel’s Magic (8-1) move to Santa Anita’s flat turf chute after multiple starts sprinting on the hillside turf course. Catalina Eddy, trained by Craig Lewis, most recently was fourth in the Sensational Star Stakes for California-breds March 24. He has lured the services of Santa Anita’s co-leading rider Juan Hernandez.
Daniel’s Magic (8-1), trained by Eoin Harty, most recently finished off the board in the GIII Daytona on the hillside turf course May 26. The 6-year-old gelding is in for the optional $80,000 claiming tag.
The seventh race has a scheduled post time of 4:18 p.m. PT. The field in post position order: Mas Rapido, Kent Desormeaux (12-1); Catalina Eddy, Juan Hernandez (5-1); Daniel’s Magic, Joe Talamo (8-1); Lovesick Blues, Kyle Frey (6-1); Behind Enemy Lines, Antonio Fresu (5-2); Zoffarelli, Hector Berrios (3-1); Agency, Abel Cedillo (5-1); Player B, Edwin Maldonado (8-1).
10-RACE CARD, INFIELD PARTY, WINE TASTING AND MORE SATURDAYThe action starts early Saturday at Santa Anita. With Saratoga in upstate New York set to host the 156th Belmont Stakes, patrons can enter Santa Anita through the East Gate starting at 7:30 a.m. for full-card simulcasting.
Live racing at Santa Anita will kick off at 1 p.m. In addition to 10 races, which includes the GII Summertime Oaks, there will be an array of other on-track activities for fans to enjoy.
The Infield will host both a Family Fun Zone, featuring pony rides, inflatable jumper, carnival games, face painting and more, as well as the Fiesta de Santa Anita.
The Fiesta de Santa Anita includes a car show, local pop-up vendors, Lucha Libre professional wrestling, folklorico and mariachi music, michelada vendors and more. Admission is free with $5 Infield admission.
The trackside apron will host Wine, Place and Show, a wine-tasting event with multiple packages to choose from. For $40, patrons will receive eight two-ounce wine samples, an acrylic souvenir wine glass, plus a $5 betting voucher and tip sheet. Admission also includes a program and general parking.
The Wine & Plate Starter Pack, which is $52, also includes food from Smorgasburg LA. Vendors include Correas Mariscos, Oysters & Pearls and Lobsterdamus.
Horseplayers on Saturday can also compete in the $1,500 Belmont Challenge live-money handicapping tournament. The $1,500 buy-in includes a $500 entry fee and $1,000 bankroll.
FRESU, HERNANDEZ DEADLOCKED IN JOCKEY’S RACEWith seven days remaining in the Santa Anita Hollywood Meet, jockeys Antonio Fresu and Juan Hernandez are all square in the race for leading rider.
Both Fresu and Hernandez enter this week’s action with 24 wins at the stand, which is five wins clear of Kyle Frey in third. On Sunday, Fresu and Hernandez each won one race to remain deadlocked atop the jockey’s standings.
Fresu won Sunday’s eighth and final race aboard favorite Sassy Prancelot ($5.80) for trainer Phil D’Amato. Fresu, who has never won a Santa Anita riding title, has seven mounts booked for Friday and five more on Saturday. Sunday’s card at Santa Anita will be set later today.
Hernandez won Sunday’s sixth race on Itzel ($9.00) for trainer Peter Miller. The five-time leading rider at Santa Anita has eight mounts on Friday and nine on Sunday.
For the meet, Hernandez has banked $1,376,738 in purse money while winning at a 20 percent clip from 123 mounts. He has three stakes wins at the stand. Fresu’s four stakes wins leads all riders. The 32-year-old Italian has banked $1,184,382 while winning at a 19 percent clip from 128 mounts.
FINISH LINES: Fueled by a $63,126 carryover, Sunday’s $1 Pick Six paid $16,593 for 31 winning tickets. The consolation payout for 5-of-6 winners was $255.10. An additional $844,860 was poured into Sunday’s Pick Six pool…Trainer Phil D’Amato won two races Sunday to extend his lead in the trainer’s standings. D’Amato now has 15 wins at the stand, three more than both Steve Knapp and Doug O’Neill. D’Amato Sunday won the opener with favorite Ketonia ($4) and the nightcap with Sassy Prancelot ($5.80)…Saturday’s feature is the GII Summertime Oaks led by GII Santa Antia Oaks winner Nothing Like You, the 4-5 favorite for trainer Bob Baffert…Sunday’s feature, the 1 1/16-mile Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds, will be drawn later Thursday…Next week Santa Anita will host four days of racing starting Thursday and ending on Sunday, which is closing day of the Hollywood Meet…Congratulations to retired LA Times horse racing writer Bill Christine, 85, who was recently awarded a Golden Quill Award for feature writing by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. Christine, who retired from the LA Times in 2005 after more than 30 years covering racing for the paper, is currently working on a novel set in 1960s Baltimore, and a true-crime book about unsolved murders of two young women in Southern Illinois in the 1980s.
