Hopper likes the stretch-out, dominates Affirmed Stakes
ARCADIA, Calif. – Lightly raced Hopper, the lone speed in a four-horse field, stretched to two turns following a maiden sprint victory to wire the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds on Saturday at Santa Anita.
Hopper broke like a shot under Abel Cedillo, established a comfortable lead and widened late to win the 1 1/16-mile race by 5 1/4 lengths in 1:43.83 and return $8.60 as third betting choice.
Sean McCarthy trains Hopper and Affirmed runner-up High Connection; both will return to trainer Bob Baffert in July. In the meantime, McCarthy is enjoying his first graded stakes victory since Majestic Harbor won the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita in 2014.
The Affirmed victory was particularly special for McCarthy. “What’s really neat for me is Affirmed was one of my favorite horses of all time,” he said. “It’s a $100,000 Grade 3, but it’s a big race to a lot of people. It’s neat to win a race with that horse’s name attached.”
Hopper was making only his third career start, having won a seven-furlong maiden race last out. Cedillo was riding him for the first time Saturday, and knew he was on a rocket.
“I watched his last race, and he was sharp, so the key was just to get a good break and take it from there,” Cedillo said. “When I left the gate (Hopper) was just so relaxed, I was confident with him.”
Hopper made the lead, and went the half-mile in 47.74 seconds. He was on cruise control after six furlongs in 1:10.99, by then Doppelganger was under a drive in second position. High Connection was one-paced in third. Hopper opened up into the lane, and cruised. Doppelganger finished second after passing High Connection. Pioneering Papa trailed throughout. Fast Draw Munnings and Newgrange scratched earlier.
The summer campaign for Hopper, a 2-for-3 colt by Declaration of War, is undetermined. “Obviously it’ll be a Del Mar plan, what it is, I don’t know,” McCarthy said. “By that time, I’m out of the picture.” Baffert returns from suspension in early July, at which time Hopper, High Connection and Santa Anita Derby winner Taiba (now trained by McCarthy) will return to Baffert.