Rescheduled sprints among five Saturday stakes races

There are no major changes for Saturday’s rescheduled California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita.

Big City Lights remains a heavy favorite to beat four rivals in the $125,000 race at six furlongs for statebreds. Only the post positions were altered when the race was redrawn following the cancellation of the Jan. 11 program due to the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The $125,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint for statebreds at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course has changed, however. The original field of six has grown to a field of nine, with Barbera, Elegant Sway, Safa, and Shocking Grey joining the field and Dendera out of the lineup.

The sprints are the first two of five stakes for California-breds on Saturday’s 11-race program, which begins at 11:30 a.m. Pacific.

Six-year-old Big City Lights has won 6 of 12 starts, including four stakes, for owner Bill Peeples since the summer of 2021. Trained by Richard Mandella, Big City Lights won the Cary Grant Stakes at seven furlongs for statebreds by 8 1/2 lengths as the odds-on favorite at Del Mar in November. None of the four runners Big City Lights beat in that field are part of the Cal Cup Sprint.

In seven career starts against California-breds, Big City Lights has won three times and finished second on four occasions to The Chosen Vron, the leading statebred in the last two years. The Chosen Vron is currently sidelined, leaving Big City Lights expected to dominate the Cal Cup Sprint.

Last Sunday, Big City Lights worked five furlongs in 1:00.20, 11 days after a quick work in 59 seconds at the same distance.

Big City Lights, who will be ridden by Kazushi Kimura, tends to run as a stalker and may have Clovisconnection as an early target. Trained by Blaine Wright, Clovisconnection has won his last four sprints, including consecutive starts in six-furlong stakes at Fresno and Pleasanton in September and November.

Clovisconnection was second by a head in the Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs last August, his only loss in more than seven months. The 5-year-old will start from the inside post on Saturday.

The Cal Cup Sprint will mark the stakes debut of the lightly raced Smiling Beast. The 5-year-old gelding is unbeaten in two starts – a maiden race at Santa Anita last May and an allowance race at Del Mar in November – for trainer Brian Koriner. Smiling Beast won from off the pace in May and was near the front throughout the win in November.

Stay and Scam still favored

Stay and Scam may be the only turf sprint stakes winner in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, but her chances for a second career stakes win are slightly more difficult in the rescheduled race.

Safa, second in two stakes for statebred 3-year-old fillies last year, won an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs on the flat turf course at Santa Anita last June. Trained by Gary Stute, Safa won an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs on dirt at Santa Anita on Jan. 5 in her last start when eligible to be claimed for $50,000.

Both Stay and Scam and Safa are effective as stalkers and should have an early target in Barbera. Trained by Aggie Ordonez, Barbera has won 2 of her last 4 starts racing on dirt and will make her turf debut in her 16th career start on Saturday.

Stay and Scam, who was third by a head in the 2024 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, won an allowance race and the Irish O’Brien Stakes for statebred fillies and mares on the hillside course last February and March, respectively.

In Saturday’s race, Stay and Scam will be strongly favored based on that form and a third-place finish in the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes for fillies and mares at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 1.

Stay and Scam, trained by Doug O’Neill for owners Paul and Zillah Reddam, was deliberately given a gap following the Maddy Stakes.

“We purposefully circled this race to give her time,” O’Neill said earlier this month.

In the Fran’s Valentine Stakes, Stay and Scam finished a length in front of Moment’s Pleasure, who later won the Solana Beach Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Del Mar in August.

Moment’s Pleasure is part of Saturday’s race, her first career start on the hillside course. Trained by Craig Lewis, Moment’s Pleasure won a six-furlong maiden race on turf on the flat course at Santa Anita last April.