ARCADIA, Calif. - The Daily Racing Form columnist Joe Hirsch once said, "Good racing is good business." Santa Anita proved that on Tuesday.
Propelled by an opening-day card featuring full fields and a competitive 12-horse field in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, Santa Anita had the most successful Tuesday opening since the expansion of cross-town simulcast wagering.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The 2-year-old Double Major has changed remarkably since she won her initial start in November, trainer Clifford Sise says.
"She's just blossomed," Sise said.
He is banking on that helping the filly win her stakes debut in Friday's $125,000 California Breeders Champion Stakes at Santa Anita.
Sise trains Double Major for breeders Marty and Pam Wygod. He also trains the filly's older full siblings - the maiden Common Truth, 3, and Common Trust, a 4-year-old who has earned $110,560.
Double Major, he said, "was the ugly ducking" of the group.
ALBANY, Calif. - The 31-day Golden Gate Fields meeting couldn't have gotten off to a better start for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Secret Scheme, his talented 3-year-old filly, won a stakes-quality allowance sprint in the meet's first race. Secret Scheme's effort has Hollendorfer looking at the Jan. 27 Sunshine Millions at Santa Anita and Gulfstream for her next start.
On Friday, Hollendorfer hopes to find a candidate for the Jan. 28 California Derby, sending out Bwana Bull and Regal Times - plus Gregorian Bay - in a one-mile allowance race for 2-year-olds.
ALBANY, Calif. McCanns Mojave ($6) got a perfect trip in winning his second straight race, capturing the $60,400 Union Square at Golden Gate Fields on Tuesday.
Just as he had in his previous start, an $80,000 optional claimer in the slop at Bay Meadows on Dec. 10, McCanns Mojave sat just off Dr. Einstein. McCanns Mojave took command into the second turn, beating Dr. Einstein by two lengths in 1:42.46 for 1 1/16 miles on a sloppy track. Dr. Einstein held off My Creed for second.
ARCADIA, Calif. Latent Heat received a perfect stalking trip from jockey Edgar Prado, then spurted clear down the stretch to score a two-length victory in the Grade 1, $250,000 Malibu Stakes on Tuesdays opening-day card at Santa Anita.
A crowd of 32,931 turned out for the Malibu, which drew 12 3-year-olds, including Brother Derek. But Brother Derek, the 2-1 favorite, made no impact down the stretch while finishing seventh.
A backstretch worker was stabbed and the man suspected of assaulting him was arrested Tuesday morning at Gulfstream Park. The man who was stabbed, identified by the Hallandale Beach Police Department as Bradley Crescione, was taken to a nearby hospital and was listed in serious condition Tuesday.
By MARCUS HERSH
Teuflesberg has been attacked by yellow jackets while readying for a race at Saratoga, fallen down in a fit of pique while being saddled at Keeneland, and stumbled badly leaving the gate in three different starts. Recently, his luck has changed, and Teuflesberg has begun to consistently show the talent he only occasionally flashed early in his 2-year-old season.
ARCADIA, Calif. - The first month of the Santa Anita meeting will give the 2-year-old filly Jump On In a chance to prove her reputation from last summer was a true indication of her talent.
Jump On In won a maiden race by an easy 5 1/4 lengths at Del Mar in August, but has failed in two subsequent starts, finishing fifth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante and second in the Moccasin Stakes at Hollywood Park.
ARCADIA, Calif. - As the field for the second race at Santa Anita on Tuesday neared the start for a downhill turf sprint, jockey Garrett Gomez noticed that cars weren't whizzing by on adjacent Colorado Place. Instead, they were sitting there, bumper to bumper.