PUBILIUS SYRUS, UNBEATEN HECK YEAH & STABLEMATE AX MAN HEADLINE SATURDAY’S PASADENA STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

#2 PUBILIUS SYRUS (Kent Desormeaux)
$75,000 Baffle Stakes
Owner: Holly & David Wilson
Trainer: Vladimir Cerin
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Santa Anita Park
Arcadia CA
© BENOIT PHOTO

PUBILIUS SYRUS
Benoit Photo

TWO-TIME STAKES WINNER PUBILIUS SYRUS, UNBEATEN HECK YEAH & STABLEMATE AX MAN HEADLINE SATURDAY’S $200,000 PASADENA STAKES AT ONE MILE ON TURF

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 14, 2018)—Trainer Vladimir Cerin’s streaking two-time stakes winner Pubilius Syrus, Unbeaten Heck Yeah and his highly promising stablemate Ax Man, both trained by Bob Baffert, loom large in a field of nine sophomores going one mile on turf in Saturday’s $200,000 Pasadena Stakes.

A recent winner of two consecutive turf stakes, Pubilius Syrus comes off a win going 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course Feb. 18 and will again stretch out to what appears to be his preferred distance in the Pasadena.

A winner of three consecutive races, the last two state-bred stakes, Heck Yeah’s “numbers” are moderate in terms of speed figures, but the results are unassailable, as he’s won his three starts by a combined nine lengths.

A 9 ½ length first out maiden winner sprinting, Hal and Patti Earnhardt’s Ax Man flopped as the 2-5 favorite in the Grade II San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 10 and will try two turns and turf for the first time.

PUBILIUS SYRUS

Owner: Holly and David Wilson Trainer: Vladimir Cerin
The horse to beat, he has two wins, a second and a third from five tries at one mile on turf. A head winner of the one mile turf Eddie Logan Stakes here Dec. 29, he showed the way under confident handling through the lane in the Baffle Stakes coming down the hill Feb. 18, prevailing by one length. With an overall mark of 7-3-1-1, he has earnings of $158,940—second only to Heck Yeah’s $194,000. He’ll be ridden for the first time by Corey Nakatani, as regular pilot Kent Desormeaux is serving a three-day riding suspension through Sunday.

HECK YEAH

Owner: Michael Pageler, Dr. Michael Sigband and Bob Baedeker Trainer: Bob Baffert
By Eclipse Champion Turf Horse Acclamation, he returns to what figures to be his preferred surface following a 1 ¼ length win on dirt in the California Cup Derby going 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 19. A 5 ¼ length first-out maiden winner Dec. 7 at Los Alamitos, he rallied to take the Cal Cup Turf Sprint at 6 ½ furlongs off the hillside course in his second start on Jan. 27. Bred in California by his co-owner Pageler, Heck Yeah will be facing open company for the first time and will need to step up his game to beat the likes of Pubilius Syrus, who has posted higher Beyer Speed figures (90 top, compared to 80 for Heck Yeah).

AX MAN

Owner: Patti and Hal Earnhardt III Trainer: Bob Baffert
Bred in Kentucky by his owners, this colt by 2010 Santa Anita Handicap winner Misremembered was stirring Derby speculation following his lights-out 9 ½ length maiden win going six furlongs here Jan. 1 and was subsequently hammered to 2-5 favoritism in the Grade II, seven furlong San Vicente Stakes Feb. 10. Head and head for the early lead through splits of 22 flat and 44.20, he tired badly and finished fourth, beaten 16 lengths by Kanthaka, who finished third in this past Saturday’s Grade II San Felipe Stakes. With Baffert firmly in charge, it’s expected the surface change will present no significant problems, although if weather conditions dictate, he’d relish a switch to the main track.

THE $200,000 PASADENA STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 8 of 10 Approximate post time 3:30 p.m. PT

1. Afleet Ascent—Rafael Bejarano—120
2. Platinum Equity—Geovanni Franco—120
3. River Boyne—Joel Rosario—122
4. Pubilius Syrus—Corey Nakatani—124
5. Heck Yeah—Mike Smith—124
6. Buckstopper Kit—Rajiv Maragh—120
7. Ax Man—Evin Roman—120
8. La La Land—Joe Talamo—120
9. Inscom—Tyler Baze—120

First post time for a 10-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon. For additional 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.