SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES – SATURDAY, JANUARY 12, 2019

By Ed Golden —-

• LAKE TIME IS CURRENTLY ‘CRYSTAL’ CLEAR FOR KRULJAC
• MATOS HAS NEW ‘BUG’ RIDER DUE IN FROM PUERTO RICO
• NEW SANTA ANITA VP RACING, STEVE LYM TO ARRIVE TODAY
• CTBA WINTER MIXED SALE IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 16

LAKE TIME ‘CRYSTAL’ CLEAR FOR KALOOKAN QUEEN

Lake Time seeks her first added money victory Sunday in the $75,000 Kalookan Queen Stakes for older fillies and mares at 6 ½ furlongs on the main track.

The five-year-old Tapizar mare trained by Eric Kruljac for owners Mary and James Abel will be running in her fourth stakes in 18 career outings.

“She’s training great,” said Kruljac, who ran her at Turf Paradise last Oct. 20 where she was third in a restricted stakes. “I sent her there mainly so my brother, Jay, and his associate, could help her, and they did.

“Jay works with crystals and he found some trouble spots in her spine and fixed them. They sent her back here and she ran a 93 Beyer winning an overnight race at Del Mar Nov. 16.”

Lake Time and the other starters in the Kalookan Queen face a daunting task, however, since Selcourt was scratched from today’s Las Cienegas Stakes and is Jon White’s 2-5 morning favorite in the Kalookan Queen.

The field for the Kalookan Queen, race four of nine with a 12:30 p.m. first post time: Lake Time, Geovanni Franco, 6-1; Spring Lily, Evin Roman, 8-1; Tyfosha, Rafael Bejarano, 10-1; Selcourt, Tyler Baze, 2-5; Way to Versailles, Flavien Prat, 4-1; and Lady Suebee, Joel Rosario, 7-2.

MATOS TO UNVEIL YOUNG APPRENTICE AT SANTA ANITA

Agent Tony Matos, adept at developing apprentice riders into Eclipse Award winners, hopes his magic touch continues when he brings in 18-year-old Jean Carlos Diaz Jr. from his native Puerto Rico to join Santa Anita’s ever-competitive jockey colony.

Diaz, who carries a 10-pound weight allowance and tacks 106 pounds, is the son of veteran jockey Juan Carlos Diaz, Puerto Rico’s all-time leader in stakes victories and its champion rider the past 16 years. He began his career in 2000 and has compiled 4,772 victories with purse earnings of more than $40 million.

“I’m really excited to have young Diaz,” said Matos, who expects him to arrive at Santa Anita on Feb. 4 with his father, and to begin riding at The Great Race Place Feb. 7 with publication of the latest condition book.

Diaz is a graduate of Puerto Rico’s Escuela Vocacional Hipica which produced the sensational Ortiz brothers, Irad Jr. and Jose, in addition to fellow Puerto Rican Evin Roman, the 2017 Eclipse Award winner as outstanding apprentice rider, represented by Matos.

STEVE LYM, NEW SANTA ANITA VP, RACING SET TO ARRIVE THIS MORNING

En route from LAX to Santa Anita at press time, Steve Lym, Santa Anita’s newly appointed Vice President and Racing Secretary, is due to arrive at The Great Race Place later this morning.

Steeped in the Thoroughbred business from childhood, Lym served as Woodbine Racecourse’s Racing Secretary from 2003 through 2013 and as their Director of Racing from 2013 until this past fall.

Lym, who is married (Jennifer) and has two sons, Curtis, 20 and Jordan, 19, brings a wide breadth of industry experience to one of America’s most pivotal racing positions.

“Coming from Woodbine, where we too, are a bit isolated in terms of ready access to other major tracks, I see similarities in the business model that Santa Anita is faced with and I think I bring a skill set that will transfer nicely to Southern California,” said Lym upon his appointment on Dec. 22.

Lym will be assisted throughout his transition and beyond by current Santa Anita Racing Director Dan Eidson and TSG Vice President of Racing PJ Campo.

CTBA WINTER MIXED SALE SET FOR JAN. 16 AT FAIRPLEX

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association will conduct a Winter Mixed Sale on Wednesday, Jan. 16, beginning at 12 noon in the Hinds Pavilion at Fairplex Park.

Horsemen are advised that CTBA Winter Mixed Sale catalogues are available in the Santa Anita racing office and at ctba.com.

For additional information, prospective buyers are encouraged to visit the CTBA website, or contact Loretta Veiga at (800) 573-2822, ext. 227 or via email at mailto:loretta@ctba.com. An additional Sale contact is Christy Chapman, at (800) 573-2822, ext. 247 or via email at mailto:christy@ctba.com.

The main office number for the CTBA, located just across the street from Santa Anita on Colorado Place, is (626) 445-7800.

FINISH LINES: Thanks to two nose victories Friday, Mike Smith moved into a tie for second with Joel Rosario and Heriberto Figueroa in the jockey standings. Each has nine victories, but Smith has achieved them from just 23 mounts, a winning average of 39 percent. Rosario and Figueroa have 56 and 51 mounts, respectively. Flavien Prat leads the aforementioned trio with 14 victories through 11 racing days . . . Among trainers, Richard Baltas and Doug O’Neill are tied for the lead with eight victories each, while Jerry Hollendorfer is one back with seven. Favorites are winning at some seven points below the national norm at 26.21 percent, with bridge jumpers ever at the precipice since only five of 19 odds-on favorites have won, 26.32 percent . . . Jockey Tiago Pereira, among the top five in Santa Anita’s standings, rides 9-5 morning line favorite Blackjackcat for Mark Glatt in todays’ Cotton Fitzsimmons Mile on turf at Turf Paradise . . . Horseplayer James Leal will be Tom Quigley’s guest handicapper Sunday at 11:20 a.m. . . . The Bulldog Derby will hold its inaugural running Saturday, Jan. 19 in the Infield. Both French and English-breds will face off in a friendly competition throughout the day over the grass with two dirt finals set for the main track later in the day. All proceeds benefit the Southern California Bulldog Rescue.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS

(Current Through Friday, Jan. 11)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 64 14 14 8 22% 56% $1,020,381
Joel Rosario 56 9 10 11 16% 54% $748,865
Heriberto Figueroa 51 9 3 8 18% 39% $317,332
Mike Smith 23 9 3 4 39% 70% $579,609
Drayden Van Dyke 50 7 9 8 14% 48% $408,451
Assael Espinoza 31 7 1 2 23% 32% $169,573
Rafael Bejarano 40 5 6 5 13% 40% $286,918
Geovanni Franco 43 5 4 5 12% 33% $348,820
Tiago Pereira 36 5 2 3 14% 28% $164,992
Tyler Baze 60 4 12 9 7% 42% $416,706
Joseph Talamo 44 4 6 8 9% 41% $328,200

Trainer Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won
Richard Baltas 39 8 11 3 21% 56% $530,690
Doug O’Neill 39 8 3 3 21% 36% $295,710
Jerry Hollendorfer 31 7 3 5 23% 48% $350,338
Peter Miller 32 5 6 5 16% 50% $260,334
J. Keith Desormeaux 19 5 2 2 26% 47% $198,478
William E. Morey 21 4 2 5 19% 52% $129,559
Philip D’Amato 24 3 6 1 13% 42% $188,648
John Sadler 24 3 4 5 13% 50% $301,666
Richard Mandella 10 3 1 1 30% 50% $121,340
Leonard Powell 8 3 0 1 38% 50% $72,202
Steve Knapp 11 3 0 1 27% 36% $55,572

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.