SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

By ED GOLDEN & MIKE WILLMAN —-

• IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR BOB BAFFERT
• JUSTIFY ON PARADE AT SANTA ANITA JUNE 23
• MOREY SWEET ON UNBEATEN OLLIE’S CANDY
• O’NEILL SEEKS THE RAINBOW’S POT OF GOLD
• ROMAN GETS GOLDEN WHIP AWARD SATURDAY
• RETIRED HORSES, CARMA FETED ON SUNDAY

BAFFERT BASKS IN POST-BELMONT NORMALCY

Far from the madding crowd that produced the Triple Crown frenzy for Justify before,
during and after his victory in the Belmont Stakes last Saturday, Bob Baffert was back on the beat in the glorious solitude of his home base at Santa Anita Thursday, mulling the future.

“He went back to the track (at Churchill Downs) today, jogged, and came out of it really well,” Baffert said of Justify, who became history’s 13th Triple Crown winner by capturing the mile and a half Belmont.

“Jimmy (assistant Jim Barnes) said he was pretty happy, so we’re going to take him back tomorrow, go light with him, parade him Saturday at Churchill, and he’ll be here at Santa Anita Sunday afternoon.

“We have no plans yet (for his next race). We’ll just get him here and go from there.”
Asked who held up better through the Triple Crown morass, him or the horse, Baffert paused briefly and said, “We’re all tired, although Justify handled it really well.

“The mile and a half wasn’t a problem for him.”

JUSTIFY TO BE PARADED AT SANTA ANITA SATURDAY, JUNE 23

Undefeated Triple Crown champion Justify will return home to Santa Anita Sunday, with an estimated arrival time of 2 p.m. Pacific Time.

Unraced at age two, Justify, a magnificent physical specimen by the late Scat Daddy out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic, was an overwhelming 9 ½ length first-out maiden winner going seven furlongs here on Feb. 18. He followed that with a 6 ½ length one mile allowance win March 11, which propelled him to a three-length score at a mile and one eighth in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby April 7.

Following victories in the Grade I Kentucky Derby on May 5 and the Grade I Preakness Stakes May 19, Justify then joined the legendary Seattle Slew as he became Thoroughbred racing’s second undefeated Triple Crown winner 111 days after he broke his maiden at The Great Race Place.

Owned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, LLC, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm, Justify’s next start is as yet undetermined.

Although credentialed media are welcome to greet him upon his arrival at Santa Anita on Sunday, Justify will be paraded for all to see in a special ceremony between races a week from Saturday, June 23, at which time Baffert and Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith will be available for interviews.

OLLIE’S CANDY MOVES UP IN SUMMERTIME OAKS

Ollie’s Candy, monster winner against lesser in two races at Golden Gate Fields, moves up to Grade II competition Saturday in the $200,000 Summertime Oaks for three-year-old fillies at a mile and one-sixteenth.

A daughter of Candy Ride owned and bred in Kentucky by Paul and Karen Eggert, Ollie’s Candy broke her maiden by 6 ½ lengths, then won an overnight race by 7 ¾ lengths, each at six furlongs.

“She’s a nice filly and she’s training great down here,” Bill Morey said. “We’re excited. Candy Rides seem to do it all. They go short, long, dirt, turf, anything. She won on synthetic at Golden Gate so I think she’ll be fine on the dirt. She’s trained well on it here.

“Kent (Desormeaux) has worked her a couple times and he likes her, so we’re ready.”

The Summertime Oaks, which goes as race six: Thirteen Squared, Tyler Baze, 5-2; Fool’s Paradise, Tyler Conner, 4-1; Exuberance, Gary Stevens, 6-1; Zusha, Drayden Van Dyke, 10-1; Chocolate Martini, Flavien Prat, 9-5; and Ollie’s Candy, Kent Desormeaux, 7-2.

O’NEILL SEEKS GOLD AT END OF THE RAINBOW

Doug O’Neill, in pursuit of his fourth Santa Anita training crown, has two horses entered in Saturday’s $100,000 Rainbow Stakes for three-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf, newcomer Arawak and Singletary Stakes winner Blame the Rider.

“We purchased Arawak during the time he ran third in the Jim Ruby Steaks at TurfwayPark last March,” said O’Neill assistant Leandro Mora. “He ran twice before we got him back to California, and we’re happy with what we have right now.

“Gary Stevens loves him, so hopefully he’s right.” The Hall of Fame jockey has the mount on Saturday. Mario Gutierrez, however, who has ridden Blame the Rider in each of his seven career races, will have his streak come to an end.

Santa Anita’s third-leading rider this meet with 21 wins, Gutierrez will be at Churchill Downs Saturday to ride two horses for O’Neill, Pavel in the Grade I Stephen Foster and Mopotism in the Fleur de Lis Handicap.

With eight racing days remaining in the Spring Meet, O’Neill has a 26-22 lead over runners-up Peter Miller and Phil D’Amato.

The Rainbow Stakes, race three of 11: Respect the Hustle, Geovanni Franco; Move Over, Tyler Baze; Blame the Rider, Tyler Conner; River Boyne, Flavien Prat; and Arawak, Gary Stevens.

Trainer Richard Baltas did not enter Fibonacci due to a “high white (blood) count.”

EVIN ROMAN TO RECEIVE GOLDEN WHIP AWARD SATURDAY

Evin Roman, America’s Eclipse Champion Apprentice Jockey for 2017 and Santa Anita’s leading jockey at this year’s Winter Meet, will receive Santa Anita’s prestigious Golden Whip Award in a Winner’s Circle ceremony this Saturday following the fourth race. A 20-year-old native of Puerto Rico who was born March 4, 1998, Roman amassed 46 wins over the course of the 60-day meet, which opened on Dec. 26 and concluded April 8.

Sidelined due to a broken left toe sustained in a training accident April 24, Roman returns to action today, as he is named on two horses, Depende de Ti in race one and Daddy’s Mistress in race three.

Represented by fellow Puerto Rican Tony Matos, Roman was also Santa Anita’s leading Summer Meet jockey in 2017, as he won 41 races over 45 racing days, dead-heating atop the standings with Flavien Prat.

“Evin is feeling great and he was okayed to ride last week,” said Matos. “It is a great honor to win the Golden Whip, especially when you consider some of the great riders that have competed here over the years. We are anxious to regain the momentum that we had before the injury and he’s working very hard to get back on top.”

SANTA ANITA FETES RETIRED HORSES, CARMA ON SUNDAY

Santa Anita Park, in conjunction with the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), will host an event celebrating retired racehorses and those that attend to and develop them, with Aftercare Awareness Day this Sunday, June 17.

CARMA Youth Ambassadors Amanda Gomez (15) and Jolee Craigmyle (14) will be demonstrating the versatility of retired Thoroughbreds in their second careers as they showcase several riding disciplines such as show jumping and barrel racing.

Gomez is the daughter of late Hall of Fame jockey Garrett Gomez and show horse trainer Pam Gomez. Amanda Gomez recently won the $1,500 Jumper Stakes at CARMA’s Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show last Month in Riverside, and to commemorate Father’s Day on Sunday, she, along with her prized horse, Amadeus, will be rding in honor of Garrett.

Craigmyle, like Gomez, comes from a well-established racetrack pedigree, as she is the granddaughter of former Thoroughbred trainer and current Los Alamitos Racing Manager Scott Craigmyle. The daughter of Santa Anita assistant starter and blacksmith Shane Craigmyle and his wife, Michelle, Jolee Craigmyle won the $1,500 TCHS in 2016 at age 12.

In addition to on-track performances, non-profit organizations specializing in Thoroughbred aftercare will be at Santa Anita to help educate the public on measures taken on behalf of retired racehorses statewide.

Note: Fan favorite Royal FJ, who last started at Santa Anita this past October, will be one of the retired Thoroughbreds on display this Sunday. An 11-year-old RoyalAcademy gelding, Royal FJ was as honest as they come on the racetrack, evidenced by his overall mark of 102-9-19-18, which produced career earnings of $568,150.

For additional information on Santa Anita’s Aftercare Awareness Day on June 17, please contact Santa Anita’s Director of Print and Graphics Candace Coder Chew at Candace.chew@santaanitacom.

FINISH LINES: There is a Single Ticket Pick Six carryover today of $192,243, and a $300,000 guaranteed Late Pick Four pool . . . There were 103 recorded workouts at Santa Anita Thursday, including 10 on the training track, one by American Stakes winner What a View, who went four furlongs for Kenny Black in 50.20.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS

(Current Through Sunday, June 10)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 107 29 19 14 27% 58% $1,610,316
Joseph Talamo 136 24 24 16 18% 47% $1,366,491
Geovanni Franco 144 24 20 17 17% 42% $1,079,435
Mario Gutierrez 97 21 14 18 22% 55% $1,020,565
Tiago Pereira 123 19 10 19 15% 39% $657,227
Drayden Van Dyke 101 17 18 15 17% 50% $1,050,605
Asa Espinoza 131 17 17 23 13% 44% $531,595
Stewart Elliott 129 14 15 12 11% 32% $650,018
Martin Pedroza 94 14 14 11 15% 41% $459,690
Franklin Ceballos 108 13 11 9 12% 31% $383,213
Kent Desormeaux 80 13 8 20 16% 51% $817,465
Tyler Baze 116 12 24 11 10% 41% $689,085
Kyle Frey 55 8 5 5 15% 33% $256,788

Trainer Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Doug O’Neill 106 26 23 16 25% 61% $1,252,930
Philip D’Amato 89 22 18 19 25% 66% $1,443,608
Peter Miller 96 22 11 17 23% 52% $1,041,659
Richard Baltas 78 11 13 11 14% 45% $675,484
Bob Baffert 40 10 7 5 25% 55% $711,290
Peter Eurton 49 10 4 8 20% 45% $395,295
Vladimir Cerin 35 10 2 6 29% 51% $288,513
Jerry Hollendorfer 67 9 9 7 13% 37% $659,502
John Sadler 78 8 19 11 10% 49% $759,391
Mark Glatt 49 8 6 3 16% 35% $301,225
David Jacobson 44 8 5 6 18% 43% $202,910
Mike Puype 29 8 2 2 28% 41% $247,100

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.