Planetario sets course record in taking San Juan Capistrano

ARCADIA, Calif. - Earlier this year, there were conversations about sending the turf marathoner Planetario to Saudi Arabia and Dubai for seven-figure stakes.

The ideas were eventually abandoned in place of a campaign at Santa Anita that was marked by close losses in his first three starts of 2024. The trend was reversed in a remarkable manner in Sunday’s Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes at about 1 3/4 miles on turf on closing day of the track’s winter-spring meeting.

Planetario won the $100,500 San Juan Capistrano for the second consecutive year, becoming the fourth two-time winner of the historic race this century. On Sunday, Planetario ($3.40) won the San Juan Capistrano in course record time of 2:46.95, beating his 2023 time of 2:48.08. Planetario earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95.

“He’s made for this,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “I wish there were more (races) like this. He’ll run all day.”

Ridden by Hector Berrios, Planetario raced on the inside for the first 1 1/4 miles, tracking 22-1 pacesetter Bee Catcher through a fairly solid pace of 48.35 seconds for a half-mile and six furlongs in 1:12.67.

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On the turn, Bee Catcher was challenged initially by 12-1 Rimprotector and more authoritatively by 5-2 Rockemperor, who took the lead in the stretch and had a one-length advantage with a furlong remaining. Rockemperor looked to have a formidable advantage, only for Berrios to urge Planetario closer on the outside.

Planetario finished a neck in front of Rockemperor.

“I rode him with a lot of patience,” Berrios said through an interpreter, his agent Michael Burns. “I knew he could finish.”

Berrios rated Rockemperor as the runner to beat.

“I wanted to stay close to that one and make a late bid,” he said.

Rockemperor had his second start for trainer Phil D’Amato on Sunday. Earlier in his career, Rockemperor won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Belmont Park in 2021 when trained by Chad Brown.

After Sunday’s race, D’Amato was left wondering how Rockemperor would have run had jockey Antonio Fresu waited longer to urge the 8-year-old gelding.

“He moved too soon,” D’Amato said of Fresu. “He ran good.”

Rimprotector, third in the 2023 San Juan Capistrano, finished in the same position this year, followed by Bee Catcher, Offlee Naughty and Order and Law.

With the win in the San Juan Capistrano, Planetario ended a three-race losing streak since the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar last November.

Earlier this year, Planetario, a 6-year-old Brazilian-bred horse, was second in two Grade 3 turf races – the San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on Feb. 10 and the San Luis Rey Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on March 23 - before finishing a fast-closing third in the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf on May 4.

A winner of 8 of 19 starts and $390,548 for owner and breeder Red Rafa Stud of Brazil, Planetario may start this summer in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf on Aug. 31.

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