IRISH-BRED PLEIN AIR HEADS SATURDAY’S MARATHON GIII SANTA BARBARA STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

IRISH-BRED PLEIN AIR HEADS SATURDAY’S MARATHON GRADE III, $100,000 SANTA BARBARA STAKES AT 1 ½ MILES ON TURF

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 25, 2018)—Irish-bred Plein Air will hope to replicate her dazzling U.S. debut on Jan. 14 as she heads a field of six fillies and mares three and up in Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Santa Barbara Stakes at a mile and one half over the Santa Anita turf.

Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Tyler Baze, Plein Air made every pole a winning one in the mile and one half turf Astra Stakes and will likely employ similar tactics in her second Santa Anita start.

Prominent among five rivals is fellow Irish-bred Pantsonfire, who is one of three Richard Baltas-trained distaffers in the Santa Barbara. A winner of two out of her last three starts here with the recently departed Rajiv Maragh aboard, she’ll be ridden on Saturday by Corey Nakatani.

PLEIN AIR

Owner: Sunny Brook Stables, LLC Trainer: Bob Baffert
With a sharp resume that included seven wins from 10 starts in Italy, Plein Air, although she was dispatched at 7-1, was ridden confidently by Baze in the Astra as he rationed her considerable speed to perfection in prevailing by three quarters of a length over the well-accomplished Evo Campo, and by 2 ½ lengths over stablemate Lucy De. A 5-year-old mare who had been raced exclusively in Italy, Plein Air is an impressive 11-8-1-1 overall with earnings of $155,272.

PANTSONFIRE

Owner: Next Wave Racing, Pat Maciariello, Jeremy Peskoff and Mark Silverstein
Trainer: Richard Baltas
Winless in four starts in her native Ireland, this 4-year-old filly has come to hand under the care of Baltas, winning three of her eight Southern California starts, including two out of her last three. Off as the 2-1 favorite in a second condition allowance at a mile and one eighth on turf here April 7, Pantsonfire split horses a furlong out en route to an impressive head victory, which should set her up well for a top performance in the Santa Barbara. Nakatani, who finished second with her in her U.S. debut on July 27 at Del Mar, was also aboard for a heartbreak nose defeat five starts back on Nov. 19 at Del Mar. Look for her to be rolling late in her first try at a mile and one half on Saturday.

THE GRADE III SANTA BARBARA STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 4 of 11 Approximate post time 1:30 p.m. PT

1. Lucy De—Kent Desormeaux—122
2. Pantsonfire—Corey Nakatani—122
3. Queen Blossom—Flavien Prat—122
4. Causeforcommotion—Geovanni Franco—122
5. Space Cadet—Franklin Ceballos—122
6. Plein Air—Tyler Baze—122

First post time for an 11-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon. Admission gates will open at 10 a.m. For entries and additional racing information, please visit santaanita.com.

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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.