Top two likely to get rematch in Gold Cup at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. – Gift Box and McKinzie, separated by a nose in a thrilling running of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday, may see each other again soon.

Gift Box and McKinzie are candidates for the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 27, which, like the Big Cap, is run at 1 1/4 miles. Later this year, races such as the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 17 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 could be on the schedules of the pair, who have emerged as the leading older horses in California.

Gift Box gave trainer John Sadler his second consecutive win in the Big Cap, while McKinzie’s loss denied trainer Bob Baffert a sixth win.

Saturday’s margin was the closest Big Cap since the Baffert-trained Game On Dude finished a nose in front of Setsuko in 2011.

Last year, Accelerate won the Big Cap for Sadler and Pete and Kosta Hronis, who also own Gift Box. Accelerate later won four more stakes, including the Gold Cup at Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, and was named the champion older male of 2018.

The Gold Cup at Santa Anita is the leading race for older horses at the spring-summer segment of the Santa Anita marathon meeting, which begins on Friday.

“It’s good spacing,” Sadler said. “That would be the place.”

Baffert was left stung by McKinzie’s defeat despite a brilliant effort.

“He couldn’t get by that horse,” he said. “It was a good race though.”

McKinzie was the 2-5 favorite in the Big Cap and carried 123 pounds, one more than Gift Box, who was 2-1. Gift Box rallied to lead with a quarter-mile remaining but lost his advantage narrowly to McKinzie in the stretch. The two ran together to the wire and were 3 3/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Mongolian Groom.

“That was an exciting race,” Sadler said. “It was about as good as it gets.”

Gift Box was purchased privately last year and transferred from Chad Brown to Sadler. He was acquired with the intent of replacing Accelerate, who was sent to stud this year. So far, Gift Box is perfect in two starts for Hronis Racing and Sadler, having won the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes in his California debut last December.

Hronis Racing and Sadler have another leading older male in Catalina Cruiser, a two-time stakes winner in 2018 who is training toward a summer return. Catalina Cruiser has won 4 of 5 starts. A 5-year-old, Catalina Cruiser was sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs last November as the 9-10 favorite.

“He’s close to a breeze any day now,” Sadler said.

Earlier on Saturday’s program, Baffert finished first and second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby with Roadster and Game Winner. Nolo Contesto, owned by Hronis Racing and trained by Sadler, could only finish fourth in his stakes debut.

Nolo Contesto was second early but faded to finish 7 1/2 lengths behind Roadster. Nolo Contesto does not have sufficient qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4. Sadler said Nolo Contesto will undergo a physical inspection before race plans are made.

“We’ll check him out and figure out a Plan B,” he said. “There are no plans right off the bat.”

• Jockey Flavien Prat is scheduled to ride at three tracks in three states this week and will serve a two-day suspension given in Dubai on March 30. Prat is riding at Keeneland on Wednesday, the Arkansas Derby program at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas on Saturday, and Sunday at Santa Anita. Prat will not ride on Thursday and Friday. He was cited for causing interference in the United Arab Emirates Derby when he finished sixth on Stubbins.