Taiba heavy Malibu favorite on loaded opening-day card
ARCADIA, Calif. – Everyone starts with a clean slate Monday at Santa Anita, where tradition continues on opening day of the winter meet – a short-price standout in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes.
Taiba will enter the Malibu as one of the most conspicuous Santa Anita stakes favorites since Flightline won the race one year ago. At 6-5 on the morning line, Taiba is heavily favored in the historically formful sprint for 3-year-olds, which has been won by low-odds favorites five times since 2014.
Mike Smith rides Taiba this year; Flavien Prat rode 2-5 winner Flightline last year. Now it is late December, and it is time to start over.
“I know it’s the end of the year, but [opening day] feels like the beginning of the season,” Prat said. “Every year when it’s the beginning of the year, you look back and you’re like, okay, we have to start from scratch, find good horses, and try to win big races.”
Following the retirement of Flightline, Prat finds himself on longshot Strava in the Malibu while Taiba tries to cap an Eclipse-worthy season that already includes a pair of Grade 1 wins and a third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Taiba’s chance to win the Malibu increased significantly when presumptive second choice Slow Down Andy was not entered.
Slow Down Andy “had a sore shin that popped up on us after his gallop [Wednesday],” trainer Doug O’Neill said via text, adding his intention with Slow Down Andy is to “slow down, get him 100 percent healthy, then make a plan.”
:: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.
The Malibu is race 10 on a high-quality card with six stakes, the first three of which are Grade 2s – Prat rides exciting import I’m A Gambler in the Santa Anita Mathis Mile, race 1; Masteroffoxhounds is favored in the San Gabriel, race 3; Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer returns in the San Antonio, race 6.
A trio of Grade 1s begin with the La Brea, race 8, a sprint for 3-year-old fillies led by Midnight Memories, one of four La Brea entrants trained by Bob Baffert. The Grade 1 American Oaks is race 11; shipper Salimah faces local Bellstreet Bridie.
First post Monday is 11 a.m. for an opening-day card that always ranks among the highlights of the long Santa Anita season that runs through June 18. Yet the winter meet begins with a transitory feel. For many, California is only temporary.
Prat and Johnny Velazquez will ride locally until spring before they return to the East and Midwest. European star jockey Frankie Dettori is expected to conclude his Santa Anita stay prior to spring. Woodbine leader Kazushi Kimura is riding at Santa Anita for the first time; the duration of his stay is undetermined.
Furthermore, the top horses opening day might be making their one and only start at the meet. Plans call for Taiba and Country Grammer to ship to the Middle East for the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 25, followed by the $12 million Dubai World Cup on March 25.
While overseas purses are more lucrative than the $300,000 offered in the Grade 1s Monday, there is something special about the opening-day Malibu. Trainer Richard Mandella has won the seven-furlong stakes a record six times.
“If you’ve got a 3-year-old, you might have other goals, but the day after Christmas, you’ve got one goal, and that’s the Malibu,” Mandella said.
Mandella starts Forbidden Kingdom in the nine-runner Malibu. The speedster’s only option from the rail is to go under jockey Juan Hernandez. “He is fast,” Mandella said.
Forbidden Kingdom wired two Santa Anita Grade 2s early this year, and recently returned to form finishing third in a fast Del Mar allowance against older. Pressed by graded winner Ginobili, Forbidden Kingdom was collared late. The winner Get Her Number returned to finish second in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile. Forbidden Kingdom is listed as the 3-1 second choice in the Malibu.
The Malibu field includes Wesley Ward-trained Midwest shipper Nakatomi, who arrived early this month and posted two solid works on the Santa Anita track, including a good-looking five-eighths one week ago. Tyler Gafflione rides the 4-for-8 stakes winner.
Dallas Stewart shipped a pair of double-digit longshots from Fair Grounds – Hoist the Gold and Strava. Peter Miller entered Perfect Flight and Apprehend; they shorten to a sprint after finishing one-two in the Zia Park Derby.
Straight No Chaser’s entry in the Malibu is curious, because he seemingly compromises same-owner Forbidden Kingdom. Both are need-the-lead front-runners. Straight No Chaser is owned by MyRacehorse, which co-owns Forbidden Kingdom. Straight No Chaser is eligible to a second-level allowance. It would be an awkward situation if the 20-1 shot starts in the Malibu and duels Forbidden Kingdom into defeat.
Bob Baffert entered Taiba and Messier, a Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed colt who bled and finished last in a recent comeback allowance at Keeneland. “He came back and worked well, and hasn’t bled,” Baffert said. “Hopefully it was just a one-time thing. He’s never done it before, and he’s raced without Lasix.”
Velazquez rides Messier, 6-1 third choice on track linemaker Jon White’s odds. Early this year, Messier finished second in the Santa Anita Derby and 15th in the Kentucky Derby.
Taiba is one of the most likely winners on the card, and certainly the most accomplished in the Malibu based on wins in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in spring and the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby in fall. Taiba was asked to do a lot early on. He finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby in only his third start, and survived the ambitious campaign to re-emerge as one of the country’s top 3-year-olds later in the season.
“He was green, young, and just learning,” Baffert noted. When he won the Santa Anita Derby and was unplaced in the Kentucky Derby, he was trained by Tim Yakteen while Baffert was suspended. In late summer and fall, Taiba came back around for Baffert.
Runner-up in the Haskell when uncomfortable taking dirt, Taiba handled kickback fine in the Pennsylvania Derby and ran well in the BC Classic. The Malibu is the first sprint for Taiba since his smashing debut at Santa Anita in March.
:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets.
“He’s got speed, he’s got a lot of speed,” Baffert said. “He reminds me of Silver Charm.”
To sharpen Taiba, Baffert worked him five furlongs Dec. 19 in company with graded stakes-winning filly Under the Stars. “They sizzled around there,” Baffert said, referring to the 59.60 time, fastest five furlongs of the day.
Baffert starts favorites in all three dirt stakes Monday – Country Grammer, Midnight Memories, and Taiba. For most everyone, including Baffert, opening day is special.
“It’s sort of like opening day at Del Mar,” Baffert said. “The fans come out, it’s a new year, a fresh year, the first day. It’s back, it’s exciting. And there’s good racing, really good racing. People like to see good horses run.”
The Santa Anita betting menu is the same as previous seasons, with a twist added Jan. 7. Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park will combine for a 15 percent takeout pick five, a $1 coast-to-coast wager linking races from both tracks. The bet will be offered on weekends.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.