Busy Week in Review as Santa Anita meet nears conclusion
It was a very busy week at Santa Anita Park as we approach the end to a wonderful meeting at The Great Race Place. The arrival of a Triple Crown champion, the return to the winner's circle of one of the best three-year-old fillies in training, an afternoon appearance from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner and the emergence of a few star two-year-olds made it a special time for all of those lucky enough to be in Arcadia, California. Let’s take a quick look back at the week that was.
Thursday's are normally relatively quiet in the mornings at Santa Anita, but that was certainly not the case on June 18, when the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years returned to his home in Southern California. A few hundred media members met Zayat Stables’ American Pharoah as the son of Pioneerof the Nile was escorted off the plane by assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes. Much like a Hollywood star, Pharoah posed like a professional for a plethora of pictures before heading back to the Baffert barn. Even Academy Award-winning actress Julia Roberts and her husband were out to greet him.
American Pharoah returned to the track on Saturday morning along with regular exercise rider Jorge Alvarez. The connections were pleased with his jog. His immediate plans are still up in the air with the ultimate goal being the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the fall. He will make a public appearance during this weekend’s monster Saturday card. Stay tuned to Horse Racing Nation for more details as parade information becomes available.
Saturday afternoon offered racing fans yet another quality card headlined by the Grade II Summertime Oaks for three-year-old fillies. Santa Anita Oaks winner Stellar Wind made her return to Southern California after a troubled fourth-place finish in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The Hronis Racing runner was wide through much of the race, but was able to overcome the less than ideal voyage and hit the wire first. She narrowly defeated a game Tara’s Tango and maintained a perfect record at Santa Anita. After the race trainer John Sadler was up in the air in regards to where the daughter of Curlin would race next. He declared, “I don’t really have anything planned yet. I’ll take her down to Del Mar and then we’ll decide if we want to take her out of town or if we want to run her on grass.” The Del Mar meet offers top-level turf racing for three-year-old fillies, but Saratoga is the likely destination if they are to remain on the dirt.
Sunday saw Southern California’s first two-year-old stakes action of the calendar year. The Santa Anita Juvenile and the Landaluce co-headlined the Father’s Day racing card. It was all about Reddam Racing and trainer Doug O’Neill in the Juvenile as their entrants ran 1-2 to the wire. Found Money was incredibly impressive in his debut over a wet-fast track and proved it was no fluke as he pulled away to a one and three-quarter-length victory in the five and a half furlong event. Runner up Mrazek also showed promise of a bright future despite giving way in the stretch. Both runners are sons of Square Eddie. O’Neill was enthusiastic after the race when stating,”We’ve got all kinds of options for future races. I think it’s exciting. I think they’ll stretch out. I think they’ll turf. The sky’s the limit…We just have to keep them sound and there are a lot of fun things ahead.”
In the Landaluce Stakes, it was the Desormeaux brothers and the daughter of Eskendereya, Right There, that hit the wire first. The filly relaxed well off the pace early, came four wide into the stretch and rallied under urging to run down Alien Giant and Sambamzajammi. After the race, trainer Keith Desormeaux said he expected his filly to run big despite not winning in her debut effort. He said, “All the things that a trainer looks for: confidence, good strong finishing works, strong appetite, good coat color; she had it all coming into today. She was tipping herself off today.” The emergence of Right There gives Desormeaux two stakes placed two-year-old fillies with Decked Out being the other. Keith was unsure of the plans for Right There, but did state that the two barn mates were unlikely to face off.
In addition to the two-year-old stakes events, Sunday saw the return of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Texas Red to the afternoon. The son of Afleet Alex worked a mile immediately following the Santa Anita Juvenile in a time of 1:38.97. Keith Desormeaux was pleased with the work. He explained that the reason for the afternoon work instead of the normal morning drill was to get his colt accustomed to a warmer climate. He regularly had been working in the moderate Arcadia temperatures, but wanted him to be ready for the weather he might encounter in the Dwyer Stakes on the Fourth of July at Belmont Park. Texas Red will ship to New York on July 1st.
Santa Anita Park will be dark until Thursday when the meet’s final week commences headlined by Saturday’s stacked card including the Grade I Gold Cup and the long awaited appearance of American Pharoah. Stay up to date on all that is occurring this week on Shapper Da California Capper on HorseRacingNation.com.