WELL ACCOMPLISHED GORMLEY HEADS GRADE III SHAM STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

WELL ACCOMPLISHED GORMLEY & FIRST-OUT WINNER AMERICAN ANTHEM HEAD GRADE III, $100,000 SHAM STAKES SATURDAY AT SANTA ANITA
NEWLY TURNED 3-YEAR-OLDS TAKE FIRST GRADED STEP TOWARD $1 MILLION SANTA ANITA DERBY

ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2017)—The road to the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 8 will have its first graded stop on Saturday at Santa Anita, as Grade I winning Gormley and recent first-out maiden winner American Anthem head a group of seven newly turned 3-year-olds in the Grade III, $100,000 Sham Stakes, to be contested at a flat mile.

Gormley; Photos by Benoit Photography
GORMLEY: A 4 ¼ length first-out maiden winner going 6 ½ furlongs on Sept. 4 at Del Mar, this John Shirreffs-trained colt by Malibu Moon took Santa Anita’s Grade I, 1 1/16 miles FrontRunner Stakes by three lengths in gate to wire fashion on Oct. 1 at odds of 10-1. Owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, he bobbled at the start and suffered his first loss when well beaten in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5. Idle since, he’ll again get the services of Victor Espinoza, who’s been aboard for all three of his starts.

AMERICAN ANTHEM: Trained by Bob Baffert, he made a solid run from off the pace to take his 6 furlong debut by a neck on Dec. 3 at Del Mar, earning a Sham-best last-out Beyer Speed figure of 86. A Kentucky-bred colt by Bodemeister, he’ll most likely be forwardly placed in his first spin around two turns. Bred in Kentucky by Winstar Farm, LLC and owned by Winstar and China Horse Club, he’ll be ridden for the first time by “Big Money” Mike Smith.

THE GRADE III SHAM STAKES IN POST POSITION ORDER WITH JOCKEYS AND WEIGHTS
Race 7 of 9 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PST

1. American Anthem—Mike Smith—119
2. Term of Art—Joe Talamo—124
3. Bird Is the Word—Gonzalo Ulloa—119
4. Colonel Samsen—Flavien Prat—121
5. Gormley—Victor Espinoza—124
6. Big Hit—Santiago Gonzalez—119
7. Blabimir—Mario Gutierrez–119

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday at Santa Anita is at 12:30 p.m. For scratches, changes and complete morning line information, please visit santaanita.com.

About Us
Santa Anita Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is North America’s premier supplier of virtual online horseracing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.