Santa Anita: Zuma Beach favorite Diamond Bachelor could switch from turf to dirt for Breeders' Cup

ARCADIA, Calif. – Diamond Bachelor was never a secret – not in either of his two starts, nor when he was an expensive purchase at a 2-year-olds in training sale.

“Everybody knew he was one of three best horses at the sale, and the price reflected what people were thinking,” trainer Patrick Biancone said.

Fortunately, Diamond Bachelor delivered on the hype.

Seven months and two impressive grass victories after being purchased for $570,000 at Barretts, Diamond Bachelor will try to extend his win streak Sunday at Santa Anita, where he will likely start as the favorite over five rivals in the $100,000 Zuma Beach Stakes.

At a mile on turf, the Zuma Beach offers a natural progression to the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Not so fast, Biancone said.

The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on the main track offers double the prize money, with championship implications.

“Up to now, it has been easier to run on turf,” Biancone said. “He trained most of his life on dirt. He works extremely well on dirt. If we are lucky and we win Sunday, we will keep all options open.”

Biancone said Diamond Bachelor was likely to be pre-entered in both the Juvenile and Juvenile Turf.

“First, he needs to win Sunday,” Biancone said. “I’ve never seen a race won before it is run.”

The ownership of Diamond Bachelor has changed since the colt’s Sept. 4 victory at Del Mar in the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf. Kin and Ivy Hui sold an interest in the colt to Susan Magnier and Robert Trussell.

Julien Leparoux rides Diamond Bachelor in the Zuma Beach, race 3 of 9.

His main rivals include two-time stakes winner Got Shades from the Midwest, and Station House, whose sharp debut was followed by a last-place finish. Aotearoa, Indexical, and Home School also entered.

Got Shades has been on a once-a-month racing schedule. Third in his debut at Lone Star, he followed with back-to-back stakes wins at Louisiana Downs. While all three starts were on turf, it was distance that trainer Danny Pish was looking for more than surface.

“Quite frankly, it was just for the two turns,” Pish said, explaining Got Shades’s campaign. “He had a little traffic or he might have won [all three].”

A son of Pollard’s Vision, Got Shades currently is not eligible to the Breeders’ Cup. But according to Pish and Breeders’ Cup officials, owner Dennis Foster plans to make the $100,000 supplement, pending his horse’s effort Sunday.

“We definitely have the Juvenile Turf in our minds,” Pish said. “That’s the reason we came out to California to prep him.”

Joe Talamo worked the colt a half-mile on Sept. 30, and rides him Sunday.

The pace of the Zuma Beach will be influenced by Station House, who won his debut in front-running fashion, then finished though he enountered no trouble in the Oak Tree Juvenile Turf.

“It was a terrible day for him,” trainer Richard Mandella said, chalking it up to inexperience.

“He’s not yet [seasoned] enough to handle being rated, he wants to be aggressive. When the field crossed over in front of him, he panicked. He was kind of hairy.”

Station House got rank, steadied, and was eased.

Mandella said that since then, Station House “has settled down, he’s learning.”

Gary Stevens rides Station House. Mandella said tactics will change.

“We’ll let him run out of there this time.”