Santa Anita: Atitlan gets up late to win Charles Whittingham

It was a thrilling finish to the Grade 2, $200,000 Charles E. Whittingham Stakes on Saturday as Atitlan, the 3-5 favorite ridden by Hector I. Berrios, got up in the final strides to prevail by a head at Santa Anita.

Trained by John Shirreffs, Atitlan rallied from mid-pack and surged past game long shot Packs a Wahlop (15-1) to earn his second consecutive graded stakes win and third overall. Veteran gelding Dicey Mo Chara (8-1), who was making his fourth attempt at winning the Whittingham, also rallied determinedly in the stretch but finished another head back in third.

Balladeer (8-1), with Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux aboard, outran Packs a Wahlop for the early lead and then extended his advantage while setting fractions of 23.38, 47.59 and 1:11.62 for six furlongs. Meanwhile, Atitlan settled in mid-pack while running close to 3-1 second choice City Exile, who would ultimately finish second to last.

Balladeer continued to motor through a mile in 1:35.78 with Packs a Wahlop still tracking and Atitlan beginning to unwind under Berrios. Just inside the eighth pole, Packs a Wahlop overtook a tiring Balladeer but was then unable to fend off the oncoming rush of Atitlan.

Atitlan, a 4-year-old colt by The Factor, won in a time of 1:59.92. In his previous start, Atitlan won the San Luis Rey (G3) under Berrios going 1 1/2 miles on turf March 22 at Santa Anita.

“This horse has been getting very confident, and he was traveling comfortably,” Berrios said. “He needed more pace, so I tried to be closer to the front and made an earlier move. He really fought on strong in the stretch.”

This was the third Whittingham win for Shirreffs and first for Berrios, a 38-year-old native of Chile. Shirreffs previously won the Whittingham in 2022 with Beyond Brilliant and 2007 with After Market.

Atitlan, who last year won the Twilight Derby (G2) at Santa Anita, improved to 10: 4-0-3 with $420,000 in earnings for owner John M.B. O’Connor.

Atitlan paid $3.20, $2.40 and $2.10. Packs a Wahlop, trained by John Sadler, returned $7.60 and $4.00. Dicey Mo Chara, with Armando Ayuso up for trainer Leonard Powell, returned $4.00.