Taylors Deal moved back to dirt and it paid off for the 2-year-old son of Second in Command as he captured Monday’s $35,000 Lost in the Fog Stakes at Turf Paradise.
Owned by North American Horse Company and trained by Sandi Gann, Taylors Deal won his debut on dirt at Hastings Oct. 2, ran second in his second start on dirt at Santa Anita Oct. 30, but then ran fourth in a turf race here Nov. 28.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Santa Anita enjoyed big gains in both attendance and handle on Monday’s opening day of the winter-spring meeting, and impressive performances by Mr. Commons in the Sir Beaufort and The Factor in the Malibu gave the crowd of 44,579 plenty to cheer.
The crowd was the largest on opening day since 1994 and 30 percent bigger than the crowd of 34,268 that attended last year, when opening day was on a Sunday.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Both Santa Anita and The Factor came roaring back to life on Monday.
Santa Anita had a blockbuster opening day, with an ontrack crowd of 44,519 – the largest opener since 1994 – stuffing itself into the facility on a gorgeous afternoon.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Mike Smith got through aboard Mr. Commons in early stretch of Monday’s $150,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes at Santa Anita and that was all that counted. For a moment, there was plenty of suspense as to what path the Hall of Fame jockey would take aboard the favored Mr. Commons and whether a ground-saving strategy would work.
Coming from just off the pace under leading rider Victor Lebron, Lotta Lovin ran down St. Louis City to post a half-length victory Monday in the $50,000 Gowell Stakes at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.
Owned by William Butler and conditioned by leading trainer Mike Maker, Lotta Lovin returned $11.80 as fourth choice in a field of 12 2-year-old fillies in the 27th Gowell. She finished the six-furlong distance in 1:12 over Polytrack.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Got Even seized the lead right out of the gate and led every step of the way when capturing the 2-year-old male division of the $100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes on Monday at Santa Anita.
Al Muhtasib fell behind and couldn’t catch up earlier this month in the Claiming Crown Jewel, finishing a well-beaten third, but Monday at Fair Grounds in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial Handicap it was Al Muhtasib who sent his rivals on a futile chase. Leading throughout a race rained off turf and contested over a sloppy main track, Al Muhtasib posted a comfortable victory under Rosie Napravnik, beating runner-up Strike Impact by more than a length in this $75,000 stakes race.
Late this past summer, Tom Amoss had two especially promising-looking 2-year-olds, the filly Always Here Too and the colt Shared Property, circulating in the Midwest. Neither one entirely lived up to what seemed like their potential in the autumn, but the next phase of their careers is set to begin at Fair Grounds.
ARCADIA, Calif. – There were plenty of smiling faces at Santa Anita for its opening day on Monday, but none shined brighter than that of John Shear, who was celebrating his 50th opening day manning the ropes as a paddock guard, a scenario that looked very much in doubt nine months ago.
