Sunday, March 14 2010
SIDNEY’S CANDY WIRES GR. II SAN FELIPE, ROCKETS TO TOP TIER DERBY STATUS
ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) _ Calling Sidney's Candy a frontrunner on the Kentucky Derby trail isn't just hype. The colt has led all the way in winning his first two races of the season.
Sidney's Candy won the $150,000 San Felipe Stakes by a half-length on Saturday, sending 3-year-old rival Caracortado to his first loss in six races.
BOREL TO RECEIVE SANTA ANITA’S GEORGE WOOLF AWARD SUNDAY
Following his ride on Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in today’s New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the Fair Grounds with a scheduled 3:15 p.m. post time, two-time Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel will head West to California where he will receive Santa Anita’s George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in a winner’s circle ceremony following Sunday’s sixth race.
Presented annually by Santa Anita since 1950, Borel will become the 61st recipient of one of racing’s most coveted awards. The Woolf Award honors and recognizes those riders whose careers and personal character earn esteem for the individual rider and the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Saturday, March 13 2010
UPSETTER SLEW’S TIZNOW RUNS DOWN FAVORED AGGIE ENGINEER
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 12, 2010) – Aggie Engineer, the 6-5 favorite, got the easy front-running trip that was expected, but it wasn’t enough to stave off Slew’s Tiznow, his closest pursuer, in Friday’s $56,000 allowance race feature at Santa Anita.
Dismissed at odds of 6-1 in the field of five, Slew’s Tiznow, with Garrett Gomez aboard, ran down Aggie Engineer in the final sixteenth to gamely score by one-half length with Cigar Man 2 ½ lengths back in third.
Friday, March 12 2010
Santa Anita STABLE NOTES, FRIDAY, MARCH 12TH, 2010
WAIT, NOT WEIGHT, IS OVER FOR ZENYATTA; 2010 DEBUT COMES SATURDAY
For Zenyatta, the wait is over—but not the weight. The imposing and imperturbable mare will carry top weight of 127 pounds Saturday when she makes her 2010 debut in the Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap, spotting eight who entered from 12 to 19 pounds in the nine-furlong race.
The undefeated 6-year-old mare, who has not started since making history by becoming the first female to defeat males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic last Nov. 7 for her 14th straight victory, carries her second-highest impost ever. She carried 129 pounds to a 2 1/2-length triumph in Hollywood Park’s Grade I Vanity Handicap last June 27. Runner-up Briecat toted 114.
Santa Anita STABLE NOTES, THURSDAY, MARCH 11TH, 2010
ZENYATTA ARRIVES AT SANTA ANITA FOR 2010 DEBUT SATURDAY
Looking every inch the champion in grand repose, Zenyatta arrived at Santa Anita Thursday morning, her dark bay coat glistening in the bright Southern California sunshine as she disembarked from the van that brought her from Hollywood Park to zero in on her 2010 debut Saturday in the Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap.
The 6-year-old mare was bedded down in Barn 66, where trainer John Shirreffs has a string of horses at Santa Anita apart from his main base of operations at Hollywood Park. The trip from Inglewood took less than an hour. Zenyatta arrived around 11:30 a.m.
ZENYATTA ARRIVES BY VAN AT SANTA ANITA
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 11, 2010)—Undefeated champion mare Zenyatta arrived at Santa Anita by van from her Hollywood Park base at 11:30 a.m. Thursday as she makes final preparations for her 2010 debut in Saturday’s Gr. I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap.
Zenyatta was scheduled to school between races three and four in Santa Anita’s paddock, under the watchful eye of trainer John Shirreffs.
Unbeaten in 14 starts and regarded by many as possibly the best horse in the world today, Zenyatta has been idle since winning the Gr. I, $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 7, her first start versus males.
Thursday, March 11 2010
PICK SIX CARRYOVER OF $81,826 INTO THURSDAY
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 10, 2010)—For the 13th time in 49 racing days, no one correctly tabbed six winners in Santa Anita’s popular Pick Six on Wednesday, creating a carryover of $81,826 into Thursday and the expectation of a total pool of more than $300,000.
Wednesday’s Pick Six began in race three, which was won by Nitro Active, under Garrett Gomez. The Doug O’Neill trainee paid $12.60 to win and is owned by Decker Racing, Flintridge Stable and A. Venneri Racing. Nitro Active is a 5-year-old California-bred gelding by Capsized.
QUISISANA EXTENDS WIN STREAK IN PREP FOR GR. III LAS FLORES HANDICAP
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 10, 2010) – Following a nose victory in the $200,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Sprint on Jan. 30, Quisisana extended her winning streak to three Wednesday when overtaking game longshot Hallelujah Trail by one length in Santa Anita’s $62,940 allowance feature for fillies and mares at six furlongs.
With the meet’s leading rider, Rafael Bejarano, at the controls, the 5-year-old daughter of Decarchy rallied from third in the field of six to win going away in the race that served as a prep for the Grade III, $100,000 Las Flores Handicap at 6 ½ furlongs on April 4.
ZENYATTA FACES EIGHT IN SATURDAY’S SANTA MARGARITA
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 10, 2010) – Zenyatta, racing’s paragon of perfection, returns to action Saturday in the 73rd running of the Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita, where last seen on Nov. 7 she was scoring an unprecedented victory over males in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic that extended her unbeaten streak to 14, led to a repeat as champion older female, and emblazoned her enormous popularity.
If you listen to her Hall of Fame jockey, Zenyatta’s 2010 campaign as a 6-year-old will only buttress her brilliance. “I know it sounds funny,” Mike Smith said following a recent workout, “but I really think she’s getting better.”
Wednesday, March 10 2010
Santa Anita STABLE NOTES, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10TH, 2010
ZENYATTA TO ARRIVE AT SANTA ANITA THURSDAY FOR 2010 DEBUT SATURDAY
The countdown to Zenyatta’s 2010 debut is on in earnest. The undefeated Breeders’ Cup Classic winner is set to accept high weight of 127 pounds for Saturday’s Grade I, $250,000 Santa Margarita Handicap, a race the racing world expects will lead to a showdown with Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra in the $5 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park on April 9.
Monday, March 08 2010
BAFFERT, GARCIA STRIKE AGAIN WITH SANGAREE IN HERNANDEZ
ARCADIA, Calif. (March 7, 2010) – One day after Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert provided 25-year-old jockey Martin Garcia with the biggest win of his career while riding Misremembered to a one-half length victory in the Gr. I Santa Anita Handicap, the pair struck again Sunday with Sangaree in Santa Anita’s $60,350 Joe Hernandez Stakes.
Garcia rallied 4-1 shot Sangaree between horses in the stretch to defeat Gallant Son by one-half length in a driving finish to the 6 ½ furlong event that had been transferred from the turf to Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface following overnight rain.
Santa Anita STABLE NOTES, SUNDAY, MARCH 7TH, 2010
HRTV TO AIR 2010 DEBUTS OF RACHEL ALEXANDRA, ZENYATTA SATURDAY
HRTV will present a special one-hour live show Saturday featuring the 2010 debuts of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Zenyatta.
Entitled “The Champions Return,” the show will be hosted by Scott Hazelton and Gary Stevens, who will be live at the Fair Grounds for Rachel Alexandra’s race, the $200,000 New Orleans Ladies’ Stakes at 1 1/16 miles. It will go as the 10th race at approximately 3:15 p.m. The Santa Margarita will be Santa Anita’s seventh race with a probable post time of 3:40 p.m.
