El Potente likely to wait for Shoemaker Mile
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El Potente, a game second to the outsider Final Boss in the Grade 2 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday, is likely to have a brief rest before his next start.
Trainer Dan Blacker said on Thursday that El Potente is unlikely to race again until the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 25. The $300,000 Shoemaker Mile is the leading annual turf race at Santa Anita.
El Potente, who won the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths at a mile on turf on Feb. 7 in his first start of 2026, was beaten a half-length by Final Boss in the Kilroe Mile.
“He ran a winning race,” Blacker said. “He was a little unlucky not to win. The winner, all credit to him, got a better trip than us. [El Potente] came out of the race in good shape, so onwards. We’ll probably wait for the Shoemaker Mile.”
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Blacker said it is unlikely that El Potente will be sent out of California for a turf stakes in coming weeks. El Potente has won 6 of 13 starts on turf, all on firm courses in California, for owner Mike Way.
“Even the best California grass horses don’t have much luck going back East,” Blacker said. “They excel in these conditions.”
Trainer John Sadler said last weekend that Final Boss is a candidate for the Shoemaker Mile.
In the race preceding the Kilroe Mile, the Blacker-trained Start the Ride finished a well-beaten sixth of seven in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds, his first start in a graded stakes. Start the Ride won the California Cup Derby for statebreds at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Jan. 16.
Despite the loss in the San Felipe, Blacker said “there is a possibility” Start the Ride could return in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles on April 4.
“I feel he didn’t run his best race,” Blacker said.
Blacker said a decision on the Santa Anita Derby will be made after watching Start the Ride train through March and after discussions with owner Harris Farms.
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