O'Connor heads west for Santa Anita Handicap

ARCADIA, Calif. – On the turn of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational on Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park, O’Connor gave his backers a thrill when he briefly moved into third behind Hoist the Gold and eventual winner National Treasure.

It was as close as O’Connor would get to winning the $3 million race. He faded to finish fifth, beaten 12 lengths.

The loss has not deterred trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.’s belief that O’Connor can win a top-rated race. On Saturday, O’Connor will have his West Coast debut in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles.

“It’s a distance we’ve wanted to try and haven’t had a chance,” Joseph said over the weekend.

O’Connor, a 7-year-old Chilean-bred, won 4 of 6 starts at 1 1/4 miles in Chile in 2021 and 2022 and won at distances as long as 1 1/2 miles in that country. In the United States, O’Connor has won 3 of 10 starts at distances ranging from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 miles.

The Pegasus World Cup is O’Connor’s only appearance in an American Grade 1 race. He was 11th of 12 in the 2023 running.

Prior to this year’s Pegasus, O’Connor won consecutive stakes in the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland in October and the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday on Dec. 30 at Gulfstream Park.

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O’Connor earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for his performance in the Harlan’s Holiday.

“He’s run some races in the U.S. that are of the quality to win a Grade 1,” Joseph said.

As for his loss in the Pegasus World Cup, Joseph said O’Connor “made a move and it looked like he had a shot. He didn’t carry his run.”

O’Connor will be Joseph’s first runner at Santa Anita in a non-Breeders’ Cup race. Last fall, Joseph finished third in two Breeders’ Cup races with Three Witches in the Filly and Mare Sprint and Skippylongstocking in the Dirt Mile.

The field for Saturday’s $400,000 Big Cap is led by Newgrange, Newgate, and Mixto, the first three finishers of the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Jan. 27 at Santa Anita.

Other candidates are Highland Falls, an improving colt trained by Brad Cox who will have his stakes debut; Salesman, who won the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes at 1 5/8 miles at Santa Anita in November in his last start; and Subsanador, a multiple stakes winner in Argentina in 2022 and last year who was fourth in his American debut behind Newgrange in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 26.

O’Connor will be ridden by Edwin Gonzalez, who through Sunday ranked 13th in the jockey standings at Gulfstream Park with 16 wins. Gonzalez rode briefly at Golden Gate Fields in Northern California last year, winning with 15 of 46 mounts.

Gonzalez and Joseph have done well as a team on road trips, winning the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby in 2022 with Skippylongstocking.

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The Santa Anita Handicap is one of four graded stakes on Saturday’s program, which includes the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf.

The Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds will be the subject of widespread interest as a prep for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 6. The program includes the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes at a mile on turf for fillies and mares.

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