DR. DORR & KANTHAKA HEAD SATURDAY’S GRADE II, $200,000 KONA GOLD STAKES AT 6 ½ FURLONGS

By Mike Willman —-

DR. DORR & KANTHAKA HEAD SATURDAY’S GRADE II, $200,000
KONA GOLD STAKES AT 6 ½ FURLONGS

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 17, 2019)—Bob Baffert’s Dr. Dorr and Jerry Hollendorfer’s Kanthaka head a field of five older sprinters in Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Kona Gold Stakes at Santa Anita. Supplemented at a cost of $4,000, 6-year-old Dr. Dorr will be making his second start off of a 7 ½ month layoff while 4-year-old Kanthaka will be making his fourth graded stakes start of the current meet.

Throw in Kaleem Shah’s homebred All Out Blitz, a winner of an ungraded stakes at Sunland Park on March 24, and the Kona Gold offers players several viable options in the race named for Bruce Headley’s 2000 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and Eclipse Award Champion.

DR. DORR

Owner: Natalie J. Baffert
Trainer: Bob Baffert

Idle since well beaten in the Grade I Pacific Classic Aug. 18, this 6-year-old Lookin At Lucky gelding ran a solid second, beaten three lengths at 6-1 in the Grade II, seven furlong San Carlos Stakes on March 30 and will hope to improve with a recent race under his belt. Ridden by Tyler Baze in the San Carlos, he’ll be handled by regular Joe Talamo on Saturday. With his biggest career win coming in the Grade II, 1 1/8 miles Californian on April 28 of last year, Dr. Dorr has five wins and two seconds from nine lifetime starts at Santa Anita.

KANTHAKA

Owner: West Point Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Jerry Hollendorfer

Most recently third, beaten a length and a quarter by second-place Dr. Dorr in the San Carlos here on March 30, this 4-year-old colt by Jimmy Creed ran what may’ve been the best race of his career two starts back when second, beaten four lengths by two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint Champion Roy H in the Grade II six furlong Palos Verdes Stakes on Jan. 19. Eighth, beaten six lengths by multiple Grade I winner McKinzie in the Grade I, seven furlong Malibu Dec. 26, Kanthaka, who was ridden by Rafael Bejarano in the San Carlos, will be reunited with Flavien Prat on Saturday. A winner of three of his seven outs at Santa Anita, Kanthaka, who is out of the Noonmark mare Sliced Bread, is 9-3-1-2 overall with earnings of $328,008.

ALL OUT BLITZ

Kaleem Shah, Inc.
Trainer: Simon Callaghan

A Kentucky Derby hopeful early in 2018, this 4-year-old Concord Point (Tapit) gelding was second to McKinzie in his fourth career start, the Grade III Sham Stakes, here on Jan. 6, 2018. Most recently a half length winner of an ungraded 6 ½ furlong stakes March 24 at Sunland Park, he was fifth in the Grade III, 1 1/16 miles Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park two races back and was a head winner of a second condition allowance going a flat mile three starts back here on Jan. 6. Out of the Smart Strike mare Smart and Single, All Out Blitz will be ridden for the fourth time in a row by Tyler Baze and with an overall mark of 14-4-2-2, rates a big chance as he seeks his first graded win.

THE GRADE II KONA GOLD WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 5 of 9 Approximate post time 3 p.m. PT

1. Dr. Dorr—Joe Talamo—122
2. Cistron—Victor Espinoza—122
3. All Out Blitz—Tyler Baze—122
4. Zatter—Drayden Van Dyke—122
5. Kanthaka—Flavien Prat—122

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 1 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

ABOUT SANTA ANITA PARK
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.