Turf sprint serves as audition for Oceanside
ARCADIA, Calif. – The seventh race at Santa Anita on Friday is a final chance to run a 3-year-old on the hillside turf course this summer and to assess whether a runner belongs in the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes on Del Mar’s opening day July 16.
The Santa Anita spring-summer meeting closes Sunday, and Friday’s first-level optional $80,000 claimer at about 6 1/2 furlongs drew a field of 12. The field will have a safety limit of 11, with temporary rails 15 feet from the permanent position.
The field includes nine runners with stakes experience, including Anytime Anyplace, Diamond Majesty, Henry’s Holiday, and Red Button, all of whom have finished second in stakes in the last year. Three runners have been gelded since their last starts – Comanche Ruler, Red Button, and Rockin Robin.
There is ample speed in the field from runners such as Rocket Heat, who is making his turf debut; Diamond Majesty, who was second in the Desert Code Stakes on turf May 2; and Great Lou, who was claimed for $50,000 when he won a one-mile turf race May 31.
Race 7
KEY CONTENDERS
Red Button (Last 3 Beyers: 68-52-80)
◗ Red Button has not raced since finishing sixth to Bolo in the Eddie Logan Stakes at a mile on turf last December. Bolo was later third in the Santa Anita Derby. Trainer Mark Glatt said Red Button needed a rest at the end of 2014.
“He had several starts as a 2-year-old,” Glatt said. “He had a couple of minor things that were nagging at him. I could see that he wasn’t going to go through his 3-year-old year without a break. We decided to back off. This is a good starting point for him. He’s probably a better two-turn horse.”
◗ On Friday, Red Button will be ridden by leading jockey Rafael Bejarano, who rode him to a sixth-place finish behind American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity last September.
◗ Since being gelded in March, Red Button has been more focused, Glatt said.
“He’s seems to have a different attitude,” Glatt said. “I don’t know I’d say he’s working much differently. He’s a lot easier to be around.”
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 3 Red Button. Trainer Mark Glatt is 15-2-0-2 with a $3.29 ROI over the past five years in downhill turf sprints at Santa Anita following a layoff of 180 days or more. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Diamond Majesty (Last 3 Beyers: 77-82-78)
◗ Diamond Majesty beat maidens on the hillside turf course last October and has placed in two stakes on the course this year – finishing third in the Baffle Stakes in February and second in the Desert Code Stakes on May 2.
Anytime Anyplace (Last 3 Beyers: 76-84-86)
◗ Anytime Anyplace was transferred to trainer Paddy Gallagher last week. He won a maiden race on the hillside March 6 and was second in the Pasadena Stakes at a mile on turf March 21.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Anytime Anyplace. Trainer Patrick Gallagher is 16-0-3-4 over the past five years going route to sprint on turf. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Rocket Heat. Trainer Vann Belvoir is 20-0-0-3 over the past five years going dirt to turf in downhill sprints at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan