Air Force Red will come out running in Thunder Road; $56,186 pick six carryover

Air Force Red will set the pace in Saturday’s Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes at one mile on turf at Santa Anita. Trainer Leonard Powell was adamant on Thursday that such an approach was the best strategy for Air Force Red.

“Some others have speed, but not our kind of speed,” Powell said. “I think people know if they go with us it would be a lose-lose for them.”

The Thunder Road is part of a pick six sequence that will begin with a carryover of $56,186 after the bet went unhit Friday. The sequence starts in the fifth race (5:01 p.m. Eastern) and also includes the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes.

In a field of nine in the $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes, there will be many contenders positioned to challenge Air Force Red late. The field does not include three of California’s leading turf runners in Formidable Man, Johannes, and Mi Hermano Ramon.

Johannes, second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 2, suffered a minor injury and is being rested for a campaign in the second half of the year. Mi Hermano Ramon and Formidable Man were fourth and 12th in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park last Saturday.

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Air Force Red won an allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Del Mar last August by setting the pace, but has been beaten in his last two starts in Grade 2 sprint stakes on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita – a game second in the Eddie D Stakes in late September and a troubled seventh in the Joe Hernandez Stakes on Dec. 28 in which he was stuck behind horses in the stretch.

“I think he could have won,” Powell said of the Hernandez. “Hindsight is 20-20, but he never had a chance to run.

“He’s coming into this race in very good form.”

To win the Thunder Road, Air Force Red must hold off an array of runners such as Seal Team and Astronomer, who were third and seventh behind Johannes and Mi Hermano Ramon in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Dec. 26.

Seal Team led in the stretch in the San Gabriel and was beaten 1 1/2 lengths.

“He ran a big race,” trainer Richard Mandella said.

Seal Team drew the outside post in the Thunder Road, and is expected to take a tactical position early.

“I expect him to run a big race,” Mandella said. “I think he’ll be behind a few of them and save a little ground.”

Astronomer was well-beaten in the San Gabriel, but was a brighter third behind Mi Hermano Ramon in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 30. Trainer Simon Callaghan rates the Thunder Road as a chance for Astronomer to end a 10-race losing streak.

“It’s an easier race than he’s been running in,” he said. “I like the fact there is some speed in there. His best races are when it’s a fast-run mile.”

The Thunder Road Stakes is the last of four stakes on a 10-race program that begins at noon, Pacific.

Megahertz Stakes

The Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes for fillies and mares at one mile will be the stakes debut for Sareeha, a 6-year-old Irish-bred mare claimed for a mere $25,000 at Del Mar on Nov. 9.

The claim has proved to be a shrewd investment for the partnership of Shanderella Stable, Cole and Cody Cohen, and trainer Mark Glatt. For them, Sareeha has won two allowance races at one mile on turf, earning $70,800.

In both wins, Sareeha has closed from well off the pace, and that style could be effective in the $100,000 Megahertz, which drew a field of seven. Mucho Macho Girl, claimed for $50,000 at Fair Grounds on Dec. 22 and now trained by Powell, has shown speed, as has Omaha Girl, a stakes winner from the front at Gulfstream Park at one mile on turf in 2023.

Sareeha will be joined from off the pace by Rashmi, who closed from last to finish fourth in the Grade 1 American Oaks at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Dec. 26 in her stakes debut. Trainer Jonathan Thomas wants Rashmi closer to the front in the Megahertz.

“I’d like to be closer to the pace,” he said. “The verdict is out whether she’s good enough to win. It’s a graded stakes, and if she can get a piece it’s a good thing for her résumé long-term.”

The Megahertz is the first start for Liguria since she finished sixth of nine in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October 2023.

“It will be nice to get her going,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “She acts like a mare who could have some upswing.”

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