Epical takes them all the way in San Luis Rey Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Epical has had a fan in jockey Tyler Baze for several months. Friday at Santa Anita, Epical ran the sort of race Baze has long expected.

Epical won the Grade 2 San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf for his first stakes win and third win with Baze, all since mid-November. Baze said after the $200,000 San Luis Rey Stakes that Epical should be on a four-race winning streak, having finished a fast-closing second in the Grade 2 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on Feb. 9.

“He should have won last time,” Baze said. “He didn’t get away that great.”

The start was not an issue in the San Luis Rey Stakes against four rivals. Epical had a clean start and quickly took the lead, setting a modest pace and leading by at least a length throughout. Marckie’s Water, a 9-1 chance, was within a length at the end of the backstretch when Epical began to pull away.

“He doesn’t have a big turn of foot, but he’s got a strong three-eighths of a mile run,” Baze said.

Sent off favored, Epical ($4.20) won by 2 1/4 lengths over Beach View, who was third in the San Marcos. Marckie’s Water finished third, followed by Unapologetic and Ashleyluvssugar in a field of five.

Beach View closed from fifth after a slow start. He raced on the inside to the stretch before rallying wide under jockey Rafael Bejarano, who lost his whip in the stretch.

“We got bottled in with nowhere to go and needed get going earlier,” said Leonard Powell, the trainer of Beach View. “The small fields can be tactical.”

Risky Proposition was scratched a few minutes before the start on veterinary advice.

Epical was timed in 2:24.60.

Owned by Deron Pearson and trained by Jim Cassidy, Epical has won 4 of 11 starts and earned $279,980. This was his fifth appearance in a stakes.