Santa Anita: Diamond Bachelor gets back to turf in Pasadena
ARCADIA, Calif. – For now, Diamond Bachelor’s dirt races are behind him.
A stakes winner on turf at Del Mar last summer, Diamond Bachelor finished ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita last November and fourth in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in his 3-year-old debut here Feb. 8. Those races were on the main track.
Diamond Bachelor is back on turf for Saturday’s $75,000 Pasadena Stakes over a mile for 3-year-olds, a race that drew a solid field of nine.
Diamond Bachelor is one of three stakes winners in the field, joined by Enterprising, the winner of the Eddie Logan Stakes on turf here in December, and Craftsman, a stakes winner in Ireland last October.
Diamond Bachelor races for a partnership led by Kin Hui’s Diamond 100 Racing Club. Trainer Patrick Biancone said the main-track experiments were worth a try.
“We had no other [turf] races anyway,” Biancone said. “When people have a good horse, they want to try the dirt anyway. Everything looks good.”
Diamond Bachelor is likely to race near the lead in the Pasadena Stakes.
Enterprising, best as a stalker, drew the rail and will be ridden by Gary Stevens, his regular rider. Stevens was aboard for Enterprising’s win in the Eddie Logan Stakes and a third in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby on the Tapeta Footings synthetic track at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 15.
Enterprising is trained by Tom Proctor, who trained Quotient when the gelding won a maiden race on turf Feb. 15. Quotient, by Stormy Atlantic, was subsequently bought privately by Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler and makes his first start for them in the Pasadena.
There are two other runners from the El Camino Real Derby in the Pasadena – Puppy Manners, who was fourth, and Craftsman, who finished seventh.
Craftsman was fifth in the Logan, his U.S. debut.
“I think it’s taking him longer to acclimate,” trainer Simon Callaghan said. “We feel like we’ve got him in good condition.”