SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES SATURDAY, OCT. 05, 2019

By Ed Golden —-

• WAR BEAST MOVES UP WITH CEDILLO AND BLINKERS
• RAGING WHISKEY MORE THAN A HUNCH IN SPEAKEASY
• CALLAGHAN FILLY HAS EQUIPMENT CHANGE IN ANOAKIA
• CATALINA CRUISER BREEZES FOR THE BREEDERS’ CUP

O’NEILL FANCIES MAIDEN WINNER WAR BEAST IN ZUMA BEACH

War Beast seeks his second straight victory at a mile on turf Sunday, only this time instead of a maiden race, it will be in the $100,000 Zuma Beach Stakes.
“He ran great,” trainer Doug O’Neill said of the maiden score at Del Mar on Sept. 1. “We added blinkers for that race, and he’s always been a horse that’s acted like he has talent, but needed racing, and the blinkers helped.
“(Abel) Cedillo really got his attention down the lane (at Del Mar, where War Beast re-bid after a race-long pace battle to win by a nose). They get along great, so I’m happy to have him back on Sunday.”
As for Raging Whiskey in Sunday’s $100,000 Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Speakeasy Stakes at five furlongs on turf, O’Neill was elated with the Maryland-bred’s eight-length romp in Los Alamitos’ restricted Capote Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs on Sept. 21.
“He ran lights out,” O’Neill said. “We put the blinkers back on, put him back in a sprint and it worked out super.”
With three wins Friday, Cedillo opened a 7-4 lead over Flavien Prat in the race for leading rider at Santa Anita’s 23-day Autumn Meet. The 30-year-old Guatemala native also leads in stakes victories with four.
O’Neill shares the training lead to date with Phil D’Amato, each with six victories. O’Neill has started 20 horses, D’Amato 13, for a sparking 46 percent winning average.
The field for the Zuma Beach, race four of eight with a 12:30 p.m. first post time: Hariboux, Drayden Van Dyke, 5-2; Encoder, Flavien Prat, 8-5; Hit the Road, Victor Espinoza, 10-1; Billy Batts, Norberto Arroyo Jr., 5-2; Club Aspen, Jorge Velez, 20-1; War Beast, Abel Cedillo, 8-1; and Cool Runnings, Kent Desormeaux, 10-1.

CALLAGHAN FILLY BACK ON DIRT, ADDS BLINKERS FOR ANOAKIA

Shedaresthedevil moves from turf to dirt in next Sunday’s $75,000 Anoakia Stakes for two-year-old fillies at six furlongs.
Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, the bay daughter of Daredevil set the pace before weakening to fourth in the one-mile Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar on Sept. 2. She won her debut race at 5 ½ furlongs on Churchill Downs’ main track when trained by Mark Casse.
“I think it was the distance as much as the surface that got her beat,” trainer Simon Callaghan said of the Juvenile Fillies Turf. “This looks to be a good race for her. She likes the dirt and she’s doing well. Flavien (Prat) rides her (as he did last out) and we’re adding blinkers.”

FINISH LINES: Catalina Cruiser, favored for the $1 million Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 2, worked five furlongs for John Sadler this morning in 1:00.80 . . . Early probables for next weekend’s stakes: Don’t Sell, Mario Gutierrez, Just Grazed Me, Geovanni Franco, and S Y Sky, Drayden Van Dyke in Saturday’s $100,000 California Distaff Handicap at 5 ½ furlongs on turf; and Pure Xena, Aaron Gryder, and Shesthedaredevil, Flavien Prat, in Sunday’s $75,000 Anoakia Stakes for two-year-old fillies at six furlongs . . . Favorites have been dominant through the first four days, winning 18 of 43 races, 41.86 percent. The percentage elevates noticeably on dirt to 54.17 (13 of 24), but drops on turf to 26.32 (five of 19). Thirty-three of 43 favorites have finished in the money (76.74 percent), while 11 of 14 odds-on favorites have been in the money (78.57 percent) . . . Dodger fans have a chance to go to the Breeders’ Cup with star pitcher Walker Buehler Enter online at winwithwalker.com for a chance to win two VIP tickets to watch the Breeders’ Cup with Walker at Santa Anita . . Santa Anita offers free general admission and parking every Thursday and Friday leading up to the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 1 and 2. Santa Anita also offers a $40 handicapping contest and a $5,000 ShowVivor contest with five different ways to win. For further information on the aforementioned, visit santaanita.com . . . Satchel Paige worked five furlongs today in 1:01.80 for Phil D’Amato. Word is the horse didn’t look back to see if someone might be chasing him.

LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:

XBTV Saturday: What to Watch for at Santa Anita Park on October 5th, 2019

XBTV Sunday: What to Watch for at Santa Anita Park on October 6th, 2019
FEATURES:

A Day in the Life With Exercise Rider Taylor Cambra at Santa Anita Park

A Candid Conversation With Jockey Joseph Talamo: Part 1

A Candid Conversation With Jockey Joseph Talamo: Part 2

Richard Mandella Discusses the Return of Graded Stakes Winner Omaha Beach

WORK OUTS:

Bellafina (Callaghan) 10/04/19

Campaign (Sadler) 10/04/19

Midnight Bisou (Asmussen) 10/03/19

Roadster (Baffert) 10/03/19

Bolo (City of Hope Mile) (Gaines) 10/02/19

Shancelot (SA Sprint) (Navarro) 9/29/19

Omaha Beach (Outside) and Magic Rate (Mandella) 9/27/19

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS
(Current Through Friday, Oct. 4)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Abel Cedillo 27 7 3 2 26% 44% $574,159
Flavien Prat 22 4 5 7 18% 73% $448,413
Tiago Pereira 17 3 5 2 18% 59% $142,612
Jorge Velez 22 3 4 0 14% 32% $107,339
Geovanni Franco 14 3 2 3 21% 57% $102,094
Evin Roman 11 3 1 0 27% 36% $93,785
Rafael Bejarano 17 2 4 3 12% 53% $144,355
John Velazquez 6 2 2 1 33% 83% $403,600
Drayden Van Dyke 13 2 2 1 15% 38% $142,804
Mario Gutierrez 13 2 1 2 15% 38% $87,064
Edwin Maldonado 10 2 0 1 20% 30% $57,836

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

Doug O’Neill 20 6 2 3 30% 55% $294,872
Philip D’Amato 13 6 1 0 46% 54% $523,456
Bob Baffert 11 4 2 1 36% 64% $503,502
Richard Baltas 16 2 5 3 13% 63% $194,982
Richard Mandella 12 2 2 2 17% 50% $135,242
Vann Belvoir 6 2 0 3 33% 83% $31,770
Simon Callaghan 6 2 0 0 33% 33% $65,853

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.

ABOUT THE STRONACH GROUP
The Stronach Group (TSG) is a world-class entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred horse racing at the core. The company’s mission is executed through the distinct but interconnected pillars of Racing and Gaming, Entertainment, Technology and Real Estate Development. TSG is dedicated to delivering the best in class Thoroughbred horse racing content and operations. The company holds some of the greatest brands in the industry including, Southern California’s Santa Anita Park, “The Great Race Place”; South Florida’s Gulfstream Park, home to the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series and retail destination, The Village at Gulfstream Park; Pimlico Race Course, home of the legendary Preakness Stakes, Laurel Park and Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland; Oregon’s Portland Meadows; and the San Francisco Bay Area’s, Golden Gate Fields. TSG is a leader in digital and mobile wagering technology through its subsidiaries AmTote and Xpressbet and is a major distributor of horse racing content to a global audience through Monarch Content Management. The award winning Adena Springs is the breeding and training facility of The Stronach Group with stables in Kentucky, Florida and Ontario.