O'Neill Sends Bad Read Sanchez to SA Derby
Goldencents won at a $15 return in 2011, and I’ll Have Another a year later at $10.20.
But with undefeated Dortmund likely to be an odds-on favorite in the 78th running of the $1 million, Grade I race for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles, O’Neill would pull a much greater upset with his potential starter, a colt named Bad Read Sanchez.
Bad Read Sanchez would be making his first start since last August, a span of eight months, and be going beyond 6 ½ furlongs for the first time in his career of just three races.
The bay son of Warrior’s Reward won his debut by 10 lengths at Santa Anita on June 20 last year, then was second as the 9-10 favorite in the Willard Proctor Memorial at Los Alamitos before running third in the Grade II Best Pal at Del Mar on Aug. 3.
Like I’ll Have Another, Bad Read Sanchez is owned by J. Paul Reddam, who, long story short, named the Kentucky-bred bay after one of his golfing partners and his caddy.
“Bad Read Sanchez is doing super and he’s always displayed better-than-average
talent,” said O’Neill, who had two winners Thursday, giving him 19 for the meet, good for fourth place in the standings behind Jerry Hollendorfer with 28.
“He’s got one more key work this Sunday, so he needs to put in a good one. If he does and you’ve got a special 3-year-old this time of year, you try the Derby. That’s the plan.”
In other Santa Anita Derby news:
Dan Ward, assistant to Jerry Hollendorfer, said El Camino Real Derby runner-up Cross the Line would ship to Santa Anita shortly from Golden Gate Fields and work here early next week before his status for the Santa Anita Derby is determined.
The first 10,000 THOROUGHBREDS members in attendance at Santa Anita on Derby Day will be offered free an exclusive 2015 Santa Anita Derby Day T-shirt while supplies last. First post time for the 11-race program is 12 noon. Gates open at 10 a.m.
Santa Anita offers a $750,000 guaranteed Late Pick 4 pool and a $300,000 guaranteed Pick 6 pool on Santa Anita Derby Day.
STORM FIGHTER SHARP FOR SANTANA MILE
Storm Fighter has been firing bullets for hay, oats and water trainer Bruce Headley, who has the 5-year-old speedster set for Sunday’s $75,000 Santana Mile for 4-year-olds and up.
“He’s been working good, and I’ve been drilling him Whittingham style,” said the 81-year-old Headley, a fixture around The Great Race Place for more than half a century.
Storm Fighter, a California-bred son of Stormin Fever bred by the late Larry Mabee for Golden Eagle Farm, has two recent seven furlong works that were the fastest of the day, 1:26.40 on March 5 and 1:23.80 on March 19. He has two wins at a mile on Santa Anita’s conventional dirt course, one in the Tiznow Stakes for California-breds last April.
Headley, meanwhile, holds a distinction no other trainer on the planet can claim: he doesn’t own a cell phone.
The Santana Mile: Secretsatmidnight, Martin Garcia; Majestic City, Tyler Baze; Blue Tone, Kent Desormeaux; Appealing Tale, Fernando Perez; Storm Fighter, Alex Solis; Galicado, Mike Smith; You Know I Know, Santiago Gonzalez; Ankeny Hill, Joe Talamo; Rousing Sermon, Rafael Bejarano; and Edge of Reality, Drayden Van Dyke.