As part of his hot start to the Gulfstream Park winter meet, trainer Brian Lynch has sent out second-time starting juveniles Hammerstein and Mackville to maiden victories.
Thursday, Lynch will look to continue that trend when Mythic Performance, a 2-year-old by Oscar Performance, makes his second start in a $70,000 maiden special weight race going 1 1/16 miles over Gulfstream’s Tapeta surface. The race goes as the last of nine on an otherwise pedestrian program that begins at 12:10 p.m.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Plenty is changing in California and at Santa Anita, beyond the challenging distance front-runner Speed Boat Beach faces in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Tuesday, opening day of the winter meet.
If he stays seven furlongs, Speed Boat Beach can wire a field that includes graded winners Fort Bragg, Raise Cain, and Damon’s Mound. But the Malibu distance is a big ask for Speed Boat Beach, a top horse who is an opening-day metaphor for California racing’s uncertain future.
Trainer Benny Feliciano would like to give Flipping Fish a break. Thus far, the 5-year-old gelding has been uncooperative in that pursuit.
Wednesday, Flipping Fish will make his 19th start of the year when he runs in a starter/optional-claiming race over six furlongs on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt that could be considered the feature on a nine-race card.
Feliciano claimed Flipping Fish for $8,000 at Tampa on Jan. 4. That day, Flipping Fish finished last of six, beaten 26 3/4 lengths.
Aoife’s Magic has come a long way for trainer David Dotolo.
“When I first got her from Florida, she spooked and got loose,” Dotolo said after the filly dominated the restricted Imply Stakes on the Pennsylvania Derby undercard. “She was running through the barn and slid on all four of her legs. Five weeks we had to walk her until we healed everything up.”
At Parx Racing on Wednesday, unbeaten Aoife’s Magic stretches out around two turns for the first time in the $200,000 Miss Behaviour at a mile and 70 yards.
Anisette was 4-5 when she won the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks against nine rivals in August for her fourth consecutive win.
Despite second-place finishes in her last two starts in the fall, Anisette appears to be a standout once again in Tuesday’s Grade 1 American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on opening day of the winter-spring meeting.
Bettors can expect a short price. Anisette has six rivals in the $300,000 American Oaks and is one of two graded or group stakes winners of 2023 in the field.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Every starter in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Mathis Mile on opening day at Santa Anita has something to prove. In a way, the entire field is underqualified.
For the first time since the 2012 edition, the Mathis does not include a graded stakes winner. Bettors won’t mind. The absence of a clear favorite Tuesday in the historically predictable turf mile for 3-year-olds may increase its wagering appeal.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Few stakes at Santa Anita produce as many upsets as the Grade 1 La Brea, but the hardest part this year has just been getting to the race. Never mind winning it.
Midwest-based graded winners Vahva and Alva Starr would have been top choices in Tuesday’s sprint for 3-year-old fillies. However, shipping is increasingly difficult. Vahva’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, booked a Dec. 11 flight to California, then the transport company canceled.
The only option for Vahva was a long-distance van ride from Fair Grounds that would take more than 30 hours. No thanks.
Two solid runs in this country and a more recent outing would appear to give Romagna Mia an advantage over Miss Yearwood when the two proven marathon performers square off in Tuesday’s $125,000 Via Borghese Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
Originally scheduled for Sunday, the Via Borghese, a 1 3/8-mile turf race, did not have enough entries to be carded. The racing office hustled the field up to eight when the race was brought back.
On paper, the Via Borghese looks to largely be a two-horse affair between Romagna Mia and Miss Yearwood.
The Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on Tuesday at Santa Anita might as well be named the Something to Prove Stakes.
All six runners have sufficient credentials to win the $200,000 race at 1 1/16 miles, but must demonstrate they can either overcome recent losses, a transfer to a new continent, a distance change, or a severe class test.
The multiple stakes winners Brickyard Ride, Newgrange, and Stilleto Boy can win with their best efforts. They were beaten in their last starts.
Easter, who starts in Tuesday’s Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes at Santa Anita, has changed since his arrival in Southern California in October.
“Easter has really come around,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “He has confidence under his belt after his last two wins. He’s figured it out.”
