Solomini returns to headline Santa Anita's Affirmed Stakes
Tenth last out in the Kentucky Derby, Bob Baffert-trained Solomini returns to Santa Anita Park on Sunday as he heads a field of six sophomores in the Grade III, $100,000 Affirmed Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth.
A winner of the Grade I Los Alamitos Futurity prior to being disqualified to third, Solomini appears to be the class in the race, but he’ll be facing several other promising colts, including Simon Callaghan’s graded stakes winning Run Away Peter Eurton’s up and coming Draft Pick.
SOLOMINI
Owner: Zayat Stables, LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Idle since beaten 11 lengths in the Kentucky Derby May 5, Solomini looks to have found a nice spot in the Affirmed. A $270,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, he was an impressive first-out maiden winner going 6 ½ furlongs Sept. 2 and was subsequently second to Bolt d’Oro in the Grade I FrontRunner Stakes Sept. 30. Following that, he was second behind eventual Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and then finished first in the Grade I Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 9. Disqualified to third in a controversial decision, the Kentucky-bred colt by Curlin was second in the Grade II Rebel on March 17 and then third in the Grade I Arkansas Derby April 14. Easily the leading money earner in the Affirmed field with $752,000, he’ll be ridden for the first time by Martin Garcia.
RUN AWAY
Owner: Kaleem Shah, Inc.
Trainer: Simon Callaghan
A winner of the ungraded Santa Anita Juvenile Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs in his second start July 3, Run Away then took the Grade II, 6 ½ furlong Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 12, to run his unbeaten skein to three straight races. Subsequently third, as the 5-2 favorite to Bolt d’Oro in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity Sept. 4, Runaway then took the restricted Barretts Juvenile as the 1-5 favorite three starts back on Sept. 23. Beaten 27 ½ lengths in his last two starts, the Grade III, seven furlong Bob Hope Stakes on Nov. 11 and the ungraded Chick Lang, run at six furlongs over a sloppy track at Pimlico on May 19, Run Away, who will be trying two turns for the first time in his eighth career start, will hope to regain his summertime form from 2017.
DRAFT PICK
Owner: C R K Stable, LLC
Trainer: Peter Eurton
Fresh off a resounding 5 ½-length maiden score going 1 1/16 miles, this Kentucky-bred colt by Candy Ride is ready for his stakes debut in what will be his seventh career start. A $450,000 Keeneland September Yearling, he earned a career-best 83 Beyer Speed figure and will again get the services of Joe Talamo. Although he won with authority, Draft Pick is facing much tougher competition and will thus have to prove he’s good enough to act with some of the top sophomores on the West Coast.
THE GRADE III AFFIRMED STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4:00 p.m. PT
- Run Away—Flavien Prat—120
- King Cause—Kyle Frey—120
- Afleet Ascent—Stewart Elliott - 120
- Axelrod—Alonso Quinonez—120
- Solomini—Martin Garcia—120
- Draft Pick—Joe Talamo—120