Arabian Paddys Day looking for first Santa Anita win

ARCADIA, Calif. – Paddys Day has been the dominant Arabian racehorse in the United States over the last two years, winning stakes at diverse venues such as Arapahoe Park, Churchill Downs, Delaware Park, Lone Star Park, and Sam Houston.

What’s missing is a win at Santa Anita. Last April, Paddys Day was second at 4-5 in the first running of the $100,000 Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Stakes. Paddys Day is back at Santa Anita for the same race Saturday, the last on an 11-race program.

Victor Espinoza will ride Paddys Day, his first mount on an Arabian.

The Sheikha Fatima Stakes is run at 1 1/16 miles and drew a strong field of 12. Paddys Day’s main rivals are Easter Man, who won three stakes last year and was third in the 2016 Sheika Fatima Stakes, and Thess Is Awesome, who won the 2016 Sheika Fatima Stakes in a 46-1 upset but is winless in seven subsequent starts.

Easter Man and Thess Is Awesome were second and fifth behind Paddys Day in the Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Cup at seven furlongs at Sam Houston on March 4. Paddys Day won the race by a length in his first start of the year.

A 6-year-old, Paddys Day has won 17 of 26 starts and earned $344,466 for Lori and Scott Powell’s Quarter Moon Ranch of New Mexico. Scott Powell trains Paddys Day, who is getting smarter with age.

“I think he’s getting the game a lot better,” Powell said. “He thinks, ‘Okay, game on, let’s race.’ He knows it’s not play time. ‘Let’s get the job done and get it over.’ ”

Last September, Paddys Day won the President of the United Arab Emirates Cup at Churchill Downs by 8 1/4 lengths over Thess is Awesome.