Undefeated Acceptance 'Looks Like a Million Dollars'

Unbeaten and unchallenged Acceptance guns for his fourth straight victory in Saturday’s $250,000 California Cup Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

A son of Vronsky trained by Don Warren, the colt has won his three races by a combined margin of more than 18 lengths, winning by three at a mile last out in the King Glorious for California-breds at Los Alamitos.

Owners Bud and Judy Johnston and Robert Riggio are hopeful that’s a good omen. California Chrome won the King Glorious and Cal Cup Derby last year en route to a Horse of the Year campaign that included victories in the San Felipe Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Hollywood Derby.

“He’s doing well and he’s worked well,” said former jockey Kenny Black, Warren’s assistant. “He looks like a million dollars right now. He looks to be doing as good as he can be doing, I guess.

“We’ve liked this horse from Day One, but we would have never expected him to do what he did in his first couple of outs (winning his debut by 13 ¼ lengths, then taking his next start (a 1 ¼-length triumph in the Golden State Juvenile at seven furlongs in 1:21.60 at Santa Anita on Nov. 1). He followed that with a victory in the King Glorious.

“That’s the fastest seven-eighths I’ve ever seen a two-year-old run, on any track,” said Black, who has ridden for Warren in the past and has been associated with him since the early 1980s. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one run faster than he did that day.

“I’ve been helping Don in the mornings off and on for 20, 30 years. We had a champion with Acclimation, but this horse, Acceptance, is pretty close. This is a nice horse.”

Trainer Steve Miyadi gave no hint Friday morning of any physical problems with Tough Sunday, although HRTV reported there were possible issues with the son of Grazen, making his status for the race tentative at press time.

The field for the Derby, race six of 10 with a first post time of 12 noon: Tough Sunday, Tyler Baze, 5-2; Acceptance, Elvis Trujillo, 4-5; Mischief Clem, Kent Desormeaux, 6-1; Neveradoubt, Joe Talamo, 20-1; Kluszewski, Rafael Bejarano, 8-1; Chanito, Brandon Boulanger, 50-1; Pulmarack, Drayden Van Dyke, 9-2; and Avanti Bello, Mike Smith, 20-1.

Leading online wagering provider Xpressbet is proud to support the Sunshine Millions/California Cup and sponsor the $200,000 Xpressbet California Cup Oaks at Santa Anita on Saturday. The Cal Cup is racing’s premier event for California bred and sired runners, with five races worth a combined $1 million in purses. Last year’s California Cup Derby champion, California Chrome, went on to win four Grade I races and would also be named Horse of the Year.

As the official sponsor of the California Cup, Xpressbet will produce a free, exclusive Wager Guide with analysis, selections and wagering strategies for each of the five Sunshine Millions California Cup races. Xpressbet’s popular Wager Guides have become an invaluable handicapping tool for betting Triple Crown races, the Breeders’ Cup and other marquee racing events.

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“We’re thrilled to align ourselves with the great racing that the Sunshine Millions California Cup promises,” said Xpressbet Senior Vice President of Marketing, Kerry Carlson. “California bred and sired horses continue to perform incredibly well in stakes races from coast to coast, and their showcase event is always a great day of racing. We hope our Wager Guide helps customers make some winning bets, and the Bonus XB Rewards Points they earn are enough to redeem for something they’ve had their eye on in our Catalog.”

According to Doug Burge, President of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, “We are pleased to have Xpressbet as a sponsor for the 25th California Cup Day which is a celebration of the breeding industry in California. Many great Cal-breds have participated in this event including recent classic winner California Chrome.”

To sign up for an Xpressbet account and to download Xpressbet’s free Wager Guide, please visit www.xpressbet.com/CalCup. 

Join NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop and NTRA lobbyist Greg Means of The Alpine Group at Santa Anita Park Saturday morning for a federal legislative briefing.

This one-hour event begins at 10:30 a.m. and features updates on federal legislation that will impact horse racing and breeding and an insider’s view of the new Congress. Waldrop and Means also will take questions. The briefing is open to the public.

The briefing will be held in the Baldwin Conference Room (third level of Grandstand above Clockers’ Corner).

FINISH LINES: Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern is jogging for Bob Baffert but chances of making the San Antonio Stakes on Feb. 7 and a possible meeting with Horse of the Year California Chrome and male 2-year-old champ of 2013 Shared Belief diminish by the day. Baffert does have Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Secret Circle on course for next Saturday’s Palos Verdes Stakes, unbeaten Los Alamitos Futurity winner Dortmund ticketed for the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 7 and Maybelline and impressive maiden winner Fantastic Style set for the Grade I Las Virgenes Stakes next Saturday . . . Zenyatta offspring Cozmic One worked five furlongs for trainer John Shirreffs under Victor Espinoza in company as he prepares for his debut. Cozmic One was timed in 1:03, while Captain Tim went in 1:03.40 under Tyler Baze . . . Sofast, a candidate for the Grade II Arcadia Stakes next Saturday, worked six furlongs under Flavian Prat in 1:13.20 for trainer Gary Mandella . . . Jerry Hollendorfer on Sam’s Sister, who gave him his sixth stakes win of the meet Monday when she won the Grade II Santa Monica: “We’ve always loved this filly. I loved her when I bought her and we loved her when she was being broken at Pegasus Training Center, and we loved her when she came down to us. She had a little problem and had to be turned out to go back to Pegasus for a while. They got her ready and we brought her back. And here she is.” Hollendorfer has horses entered in eight of the 10 races Saturday and a total of nine overall . . .  Horse owner and player Bill Strauss, and Glenn Alsdorf, Santa Anita weekday paddock seminar host, will be Tom Quigley’s guests, Saturday and Sunday, respectively, in the East Paddock Gardens, Saturday at 10:50 a.m. and Sunday at 11:20 a.m. . . . HRTV will re-broadcast Saturday’s 2014 Eclipse Awards in its entirety tonight from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific, and re-air from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Source: Ed Golden, Santa Anita Stable Notes