SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES

By Ed Golden —-

• FATHER’S DAY HAS MANY CHERISHED MEMORIES
• JUSTIFY MAKES ON-TRACK APPEARANCE JUNE 23
• JUSTIFY DUE TO ARRIVE AT SANTA ANITA SUNDAY
• RETIRED HORSES, CARMA HONORED TOMORROW

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO DADS EVERYWHERE

Following is the inscription on a card sent to me by my son. The message could apply for any child to any father on tomorrow’s special day:

“At first, growing up means cleaning your room, doing your homework, and making your own lunch. Later, it means learning to work hard, play fair, do what’s right, and not giving up.

“But at some point, being a grown-up means saying thank you to the father who believed that you could, pushed you to try, and taught you to be the best at being you.

“Thanks, Dad, for all the big and little things you did. And for putting up with me until I was mature enough to appreciate them.

“Happy Father’s Day.”

Excuse me while I wipe away a tear.

JUNE 23 FIRST POST IS 12 NOON TO ACCOMMODATE JUSTIFY

Santa Anita will have a special early first post time of 12 noon next Saturday, June 23, to accommodate an on-track appearance between races by undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify, who is scheduled to return to his home at The Great Race Place tomorrow.

Winner of the Grade I, $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 7, the Bob Baffert trainee achieved racing immortality winning last Saturday’s Grade I Belmont Stakes as he joined the legendary Seattle Slew in becoming only the second Thoroughbred in history to remain undefeated through the Triple Crown.

Baffert and regular rider Mike Smith will join Justify in the Winner’s Circle and both Hall of Famers will be available to credentialed media for interviews.

Unbeaten in six starts (three of them at Santa Anita, dating back to a rousing 9 ½ length maiden win going seven furlongs Feb. 18), Justify, a striking chestnut colt by the late Scat Daddy, out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic, has earned $3,798,000.

Justify, who is owned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, LLC, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm, currently is thought to be worth between $75 million and $100 million as a stallion prospect.

JUSTIFY DUE TO ARRIVE HOME AT SANTA ANITA TOMORROW

Undefeated Triple Crown champion Justify will return home to Santa Anita Sunday, with an estimated arrival time of 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

Credentialed media are welcome to greet him upon his arrival at Santa Anita, where he will he will be met by Bob Baffert and likely remain and train prior to his next race, which currently has not been announced.

SANTA ANITA FETES RETIRED HORSES, CARMA ON SUNDAY

Santa Anita Park, in conjunction with the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), hosts Aftercare Awareness Day tomorrow celebrating retired racehorses and those who attend to and develop them.

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 riding disciplines such as show jumping and barrel racing.

Gomez is the daughter of the late Hall of Fame jockey Garrett Gomez and show horse trainer Pam Gomez. Amanda 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 riding in honor of Garrett.

Craigmyle, like Gomez, has 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 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.

Fan favorite Royal FJ, who last started at Santa Anita this past October, will be one of the retired Thoroughbreds on display 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 more info on Santa Anita’s Aftercare Awareness Day, please contact Santa Anita’s Director of Print and Graphics Candace Coder-Chew at Candace.chew@santaanitacom.

FINISH LINES: Jockey Santiago Gonzalez, who became an overnight sensation in Southern California when represented by agent Craig Stephen some three years ago, returns from a tour at Canterbury Park to rejoin Stephen on June 25 Gonzalez, a native of Venezuela who turns 35 July 9, will begin riding at Los Alamitos when the Orange County meet starts on June 28 . . . Father and son Nick and Ryan Cosato will be Tom Quigley’s guests Sunday, 11:20 am., in the East Paddock Gardens . . . Champion Unique Bella worked four furlongs Saturday in 49.60 under exercise rider Freddie Rodriguez for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, while Santa Anita Handicap and Gold Cup winner Accelerate went the same distance for John Sadler in 48.80 . . . Asa Espinoza, Santa Anita’s leading apprentice rider with 19 wins, has five mounts today, all in a row in the last five races, seven through 11 . . . Attention show bettors: Eighty Three, a seven-year-old gelding owned in part and trained by Hollendorfer in today’s seventh race, has finished third in his last seven races. Claimed for $25,000 by Hollendorfer on May 19, the son of Harlan’s Holiday has been third 10 times in 21 career starts, adds blinkers today and is Jon White’s 3-1 morning line favorite in the 5 ½-furlong dash for $20,000 claimers . . . Welcome to former World Featherweight Boxing Champ Danny “Little Red” Lopez who is on-hand today with his wife Bonnie and sister-in-law, Murphy.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS

(Current Through Friday, June 15)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 109 30 19 15 28% 59% $1,650,876
Geovanni Franco 154 25 21 17 16% 41% $1,132,395
Joseph Talamo 143 24 24 17 17% 45% $1,382,027
Mario Gutierrez 103 22 14 19 21% 53% $1,066,890
Asa Espinoza 137 19 17 25 14% 45% $572,260
Tiago Pereira 132 19 12 20 14% 39% $684,427
Drayden Van Dyke 106 18 18 15 17% 48% $1,072,100
Stewart Elliott 136 15 19 13 11% 35% $718,323
Martin Pedroza 103 15 16 12 15% 42% $495,820
Tyler Baze 123 13 24 11 11% 39% $711,830
Franklin Ceballos 112 13 11 9 12% 29% $387,263
Kent Desormeaux 84 13 9 21 15% 51% $831,835
Tyler Conner 104 8 17 20 8% 43% $443,480
Edwin Maldonado 81 8 17 11 10% 44% $366,645
Rafael Bejarano 71 8 11 8 11% 38% $554,194
Gary Stevens 39 8 6 5 21% 49% $476,710
Kyle Frey 57 8 5 5 14% 32% $257,478

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

Doug O’Neill 113 28 23 17 25% 60% $1,335,020
Philip D’Amato 92 22 18 20 24% 65% $1,453,253
Peter Miller 100 22 12 17 22% 51% $1,050,904
Richard Baltas 85 12 15 12 14% 46% $710,164
Vladimir Cerin 41 11 4 6 27% 51% $346,318
Bob Baffert 40 10 7 5 25% 55% $711,290
Peter Eurton 49 10 4 8 20% 45% $395,295
John Sadler 81 9 19 13 11% 51% $790,471
Jerry Hollendorfer 71 9 9 8 13% 37% $667,617
David Jacobson 45 9 5 6 20% 44% $225,710
Mike Puype 33 9 2 2 27% 39% $268,050
Mark Glatt 54 8 8 3 15% 35% $322,695