SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 2019

By Ed Golden —-

• RAFAL MAKES HIS TURF DEBUT IN DESERT CODE
• EARLY FIRST POST TIME OF 12 NOON SATURDAY
• JACKPOT IS $1,017,841 AT END OF THE ‘RAINBOW’
• HALL OF FAMERS HONOR PEERS AT FUNDRAISER

BAFFERT GOES COAST TO COAST THIS WEEKEND

Bob Baffert goes from the ridiculous to the sublime this weekend when he sends out multiple Grade I winner McKinzie in Saturday’s $1.2 million Metropolitan Handicap, one of eight consecutive Grade I races on the Belmont Stakes day card, and Rafal, who makes his stakes debut Sunday in Santa Anita’s $75,000 Desert Code at five furlongs on turf.

“It’s a tough race, but he’s doing really well,” Baffert said Friday morning of McKinzie, a versatile son of Street Sense who has won sprinting (Grade I Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs) and routing (Grade I Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles).

“I don’t like his post (number two). I wanted to be on the outside where he could stalk them and make his run, but he’s on the inside so they know where he is. I like to be on the outside where they don’t know. But Mike (Smith) knows him well and he’s probably got him figured out. It’s taken him 9 ½ races.”

Smith has ridden McKinzie in each of his 10 starts, winning six, earning $1,483,560.

New York-bred Rafal, meanwhile, broke his maiden on a wet/fast track at Santa Anita, winning by 4 ¼ lengths going five furlongs under Joe Talamo, who retains the mount Sunday.

“I don’t think I’ve ever run a horse in the Desert Code,” Baffert said. “But this horse is really fast and I thought I’d try him on the turf and if he likes it run him on the turf at Del Mar, where they have a lot of grass races.”

With the talented Irish-bred filly Ginger Nut taking on the boys, here’s the Desert Code, race six of nine with a 1 p.m. first post time: Ginger Nut, Drayden Van Dyke, 5-2; Listing, Mario Gutierrez, 5-1; Legends of War, Flavien Prat, 7-2; Rafal, Joe Talamo, 3-1; Alleva, Rafael Bejarano, 5-1; and Strictly Biz, Tiago Pereira, 4-1.

The Desert Code is named for the winner of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, who scored at Santa Anita as the longest shot in the race at 36-1 under Richard Migliore on Oct. 25, 2008. David Hofmans trained Desert Code for long-time client Tarabilla Farms.

EARLY FIRST POST TIME TOMORROW OF 12 NOON

With a tremendous Belmont Day undercard coming in from New York, Santa Anita’s admission gates will open tomorrow at 8 a.m. First post time for the first of nine races locally is at 12 noon.

Approximate post time for the 151st running of the Grade I, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes, which will preceded by seven other Grade I stakes, is at 3:37 PT.

Following the races at approximately 6:30 p.m., Santa Anita will present a concert in Sirona’s featuring Bret Bollinger and the Bad Habits.

Entrance is free to everyone with paid admission, but there will be a $10 cover charge after the races.

SINGLE TICKET RAINBOW PICK SIX JACKPOT AT $1,017,841

For the 26th consecutive racing day, Santa Anita’s popular 20 cent Single Ticket Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot went unsolved on Sunday, creating a huge Jackpot carryover of $1,017,841 into Friday at The Great Race Place.

With $266,281 in “new” money bet, Sunday’s Rainbow Six pool reached $1,223,156, helping create a payout of $52.74 on 2,697 consolation tickets with six winners each.

Today, the track offers two dollars beers and six dollar Specialty Cocktails, sponsored by Woodford Reserve. Free Club House and General Admission are also offered each Friday.

Approximate post time for the third race, which begins the Rainbow Six, is 2 p.m.

HALL OF FAME RIDERS HONOR PEERS AT JOCKEYS AND JEANS FUNDRAISER

A Jockeys and Jeans record 19 Hall of Fame riders are expected to attend the sixth annual Jockeys and Jeans Fundraiser benefiting the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund at Santa Anita on Saturday, June 22. They will be there to honor the seven permanently disabled riders who attend, mix and mingle with attendees, and sign autographs.

The Hall of Famers are Braulio Baeza, Bill Boland, Steve Cauthen, Kent Desormeaux, Victor Espinoza, Pat Day, Earlie Fires, Sandy Hawley, Julie Krone, Chris McCarron, Donald Pierce, Laffit Pincay Jr., Edgar Prado, Jose Santos, Alex Solis, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, Bobby Ussery and Jorge Velasquez.

New this year are Desormeaux, Espinoza, Smith and Stevens. Cauthen, Espinoza and Smith are three of the five living jockeys who have won the Triple Crown. Day will become the only Hall of Fame member to have attended all six events, while McCarron will offer brief remarks. Ussery is 83, while Boland, who won the Kentucky Derby in 1950 as an apprentice at 16, will travel by train to the event from Florida. He is 85.

Organizing committee member Sandy Hawley, who arranged for the attendance of his fellow Hall of Fame member, said, “I missed the first two but when I attended I realized the importance of this cause and have been to all since.

“It’s truly an honor to help my severely injured brothers and sisters and I know it’s the same for every Hall of Famer who has taken the time out of their lives to attend.”

The six honorees are Oscar Andrade, Stacey Barton, Dennis Collins, Jack Fires, Armando Rivera and Diego Sanchez. All became pari or quadriplegics from racing accidents. Committee member Jayme LaRocca, a severely injured former rider who oversees relations with injured riders, will also attend. Andrade, Collins and Sanchez will attend for the first time.

Andrade was already a leading Quarter Horse jockey when he was injured in 2001 at Los Alamitos at 21. Collins, winner of 2,360 races, was injured at the Downs at Albuquerque in 2016 at 53. Sanchez participated in a jockey foot race to benefit the PDJF in 2015 at Emerald Downs and less than a year later was injured at the same track. He was 26.

All seven, along with some 53 other severely injured former jockeys, receive a $1,000 monthly stipend from the PDJF, the recipient of all funds raised by Jockeys and Jeans. The group of all volunteers, founded in 2014 by five former jockeys and led by President Barry Pearl, has raised over $1 million for the charity.

Tickets are limited and on sale at www.santaanita.com
An online auction of valuable memorabilia is in place until the event at www.32auctions.com

For more information contact Jockeys and Jeans VP Marketing, Eddie Donnally at (818) 653-3711 edjockeysandjeansy@gmail.com or Alexis Garske, Santa Anita Media Relations at Alexis.Garske@santaanita.com (626) 574-6413

LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:

Game Winner (Outside) and Shocking Fast worked 4 furlongs. 6-7-19 (Baffert)

Roadster worked 5 furlongs. 6-7-19 (Baffert)

She’s Devoted (Outside) and Rip City worked 3 furlongs. 6-7-19 (Baltas)

Square Peggy worked 4 furlongs. 6-7-19 (Koriner)

Bitter Ring Home worked 3 furlongs. 6-7-19 (Drysdale)

American Anthem (Outside) and Nero worked 5 furlongs.6-3-19 (Baffert)

Stronach 5: All-Star Ticket for June 7th, 2019.

Weekend Watch: Highlighting weekend action at Santa Anita Park Starting June 8th, 2019.

Executive Cat (outside) works 4 furlongs 6-1-19 (Glatt)

Campaign works 6 furlongs. 6-1-19 (Sadler)

McKinzie (Outside) in company with Inshannity worked 4 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Baffert)

Guiliana worked 4 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Powell)

FINISH LINES: Martin Garcia worked two of Bob Baffert’s leading three-year-olds Friday morning, Game Winner and Roadster.Game Winner,ticketed for the Grade I Traverson Aug. 24, went four furlongs in company with Shocking Fast at 6:45 a.m., getting a time of 48.40 with Shocking Fast going a tick slower in 48.60. Roadster breezed five furlongs in 1:00.40 . . . Mario Gutierrez rides 5-2 morning line chance Fore Left for Doug O’Neill in today’s Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park . . . Camby, 4-1 winner of last Sunday’s first race by a head under Joe Talamo for owners Al and Sandee Kirkwood, was bred in Kentucky by a group that includes Rocco Baldelli, manager of the Minnesota Twins who currently have the second-best record in baseball at 43-21 . . . It was a chalky Sunday, but still congrats are in order to Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free for picking seven winners on top in the nine races: Raging Whiskey ($5.40 in the second), Tequila Joe ($12.60) in the second, Phantom Boss (2.80) in the fourth, Neptune’s Storm ($5) in the fifth, Seaside Dancer ($7.60) in the seventh, Uno Trouble Maker ($3.80) in the eighth and Honeyfromthesouth ($4.40) in the ninth . . . Track announcer Frank Mirahmadi and handicapper Ciaran Thornton will be Tom Quigley’s guests, 10:50 a.m. Saturday and 11:20 a.m. Sunday, respectively, in the XBTV studios.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS
(Current from April 12 through Sunday, June 2)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 102 24 22 19 24% 64% $1,796,776
Joseph Talamo 92 18 13 12 20% 47% $995,826
Rafael Bejarano 103 17 19 19 17% 53% $987,094
Tiago Pereira 102 17 7 14 17% 37% $858,872
Ruben Fuentes 94 15 16 14 16% 48% $649,248
Drayden Van Dyke 83 13 14 13 16% 48% $1,185,986
Victor Espinoza 52 13 5 8 25% 50% $797,780
Edwin Maldonado 61 12 7 9 20% 46% $448,476
Kent Desormeaux 54 12 6 8 22% 48% $585,414
Martin Garcia 53 10 11 10 19% 58% $586,874
Aaron Gryder 69 9 12 6 13% 39% $476,884
Mario Gutierrez 58 7 13 7 12% 47% $503,314
Geovanni Franco 76 7 9 10 9% 34% $473,667
Norberto Arroyo, Jr. 33 6 5 5 18% 48% $384,291
Jorge Velez 43 5 6 8 12% 44% $245,638
Heriberto Figueroa 40 5 2 2 13% 23% $196,128
Martin Pedroza 32 4 5 5 13% 44% $194,688
Agapito Delgadillo 37 4 4 7 11% 41% $189,654

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

Doug O’Neill 82 20 11 17 24% 59% $983,952
Richard Baltas 61 16 11 6 26% 54% $1,099,074
Mark Glatt 59 12 12 4 20% 47% $641,771
John Sadler 56 12 7 13 21% 57% $875,492
Philip D’Amato 63 11 10 4 17% 40% $862,237
Jerry Hollendorfer 46 8 10 4 17% 48% $749,427
Bob Baffert 27 7 7 5 26% 70% $482,033
Andrew Lerner 11 6 0 0 55% 55% $156,722
Vladimir Cerin 39 5 9 5 13% 49% $273,590
Steve Knapp 27 5 6 5 19% 59% $210,156
John Shirreffs 20 5 4 2 25% 55% $386,722
J. Keith Desormeaux 27 5 3 6 19% 52% $212,105
Richard Mandella 22 5 2 4 23% 50% $248,162
Peter Miller 35 4 4 4 11% 34% $222,614
J. Eric Kruljac 23 4 3 4 17% 48% $220,519
William Spawr 17 4 1 4 24% 53% $158,236
Tim Yakteen 15 4 1 2 27% 47% $164,066
George Papaprodromou 20 4 1 2 20% 35% $110,424
Alfredo Marquez 9 4 1 1 44% 67% $103,260

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.