Old pros Red King, Fashionably Fast find the right spots

ARCADIA, Calif. – A pair of elderly stakes winners adopt key roles Friday at Santa Anita, facing easier company as top contenders in their respective races.

Red King, an 8-year-old graded stakes winner, and Fashionably Fast, a 7-year-old with six California-bred stakes wins, both drop into races they are sufficiently qualified to win.

Red King faces front-runner Moody Jim in race 1, a starter allowance at 1 1/4 miles on turf. Fashionably Fast runs 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt in a second-level allowance, race 8. The trainers of both veterans recognize the passage of time.

:: Win big at Santa Anita: Get DRF Past Performances, Picks, Clocker Reports and Betting Strategies.

Red King “is getting longer in the tooth,” Phil D’Amato acknowledged, but he enters as the most-accomplished horse in the field. Red King won the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano and Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap in 2020. His last start was three months ago when he won a second-level allowance/optional $80,000 claiming race.

Red King drops Friday into a starter allowance for horses that raced for a $40,000 claim tag or less since the start of 2019.

“I think that’s the right company for him,” D’Amato said.

Red King was claimed for $35,000 in early 2019 and has since earned $446,560.

Although Red King is the class of the field, Moody Jim is the speed of the field and most likely winner. Jeff Mullins trains the 6-year-old, who returned last month following a two-year layoff to win a $40,000 claiming turf mile by leading gate to wire. His 23.17-second final fraction was the fastest quarter-mile of the race.

Moody Jim should be loose on the lead stretching to 10 furlongs Friday under Flavien Prat. The other entrants are Dubby Dubbie, Current, and Kazan.

Race-8 entrant Fashionably Fast has won nine races, including six stakes, and $685,891 from 27 starts, all for owner-breeder Harris Farms. California-bred stakes do not count in allowance eligibility. Therefore, Fashionably Fast retains two-other-than eligibility into his fifth season of racing.

“I don’t know how many more years, how many more races, we get to enjoy him,” trainer Dean Pederson said. “He’s been good to me. And I’m not under any pressure. When I feel like [Fashionably Fast] needs time, he gets time.”

Pederson felt the veteran might need a break after a bad-trip sixth in late November. He walked the gelding for nearly two weeks, and Fashionably Fast came around and resumed sharp works under new rider Abel Cedillo. His former rider, Tiago Pereira, relocated to Oaklawn Park.

From the outside post, Fashionably Fast figures for a better trip than last out, when he drew the rail at Del Mar and was pressured throughout. Friday, Fashionably Fast can stalk the pace in the clear. His rivals in the Friday allowance are Took Charge, Canadian Pride, Direct Line, and Vittorio.

Race 7 on Friday is a second-level allowance at 1 1/4 miles on turf, led by Evening Sun and Offlee Naughty. Six of the nine races Friday have six runners or fewer.