SANTA ANITA SATURDAY STAKES PREVIEWS

By Mike Willman —-

CLASSY INDEPENDENCE HALL HEADS SATURDAY’S GRADE II, $200,000 CALIFORNIAN STAKES AT 1 1/8 MILES

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 14, 2021)—Trainer Michael McCarthy’s classy Independence Hall heads Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita, an iconic steppingstone to the Grade I Hollywood Gold Cup, which will be run on Memorial Day, May 31. The Californian, for three-year-olds and up, has a attracted a field of five.

A Grade III winner going a one turn mile at age two in New York, Independence Hall, a 4-year-old colt by Constitution, comes off a solid fourth place finish, beaten 2 ½ lengths, in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap March 6 and will be shortening up a furlong while retaining the services of leading man Flavien Prat.

A troubled third two starts back in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 23, Independence Hall was keen early in the Big ’Cap and tired a bit late to be beaten a half length for third by race favorite and previously unbeaten Maxfield.

Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Twin Creeks Racing Stables, LLC and Kathleen and Robert Veratti, Independence Hall was originally trained by eastern-based Michael Trombetta and will be making his fifth start for McCarthy on Saturday. With four wins, two of them stakes, from nine starts, Independence Hall is the top money earner in the field with $630,600.

Idle 15 months, Bob Baffert’s Magic On Tap came back to the races running on March 28, as he stalked the early pace and drew off to an impressive 1 ½ length allowance win going a mile and one sixteenth with Prat up. A Summer Wind Equine homebred, Magic On Tap is a 5-year-old horse by Tapit that has good natural speed and tremendous upside as he tries stakes competition for the first time in what will be his fifth start.

With Prat opting to stick with Independence Hall, Magic On Tap, who has two wins and as many seconds from four starts, will be ridden for the first time by Umberto Rispoli.

Perhaps the biggest question mark in Saturday’s Californian is Brazilian-bred Royal Ship, who comes off a fast finishing fifth place finish on turf to talented Hit the Road in the Grade I Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 6. A Group I winner on grass in his native Brazil, he raced twice on dirt in his 11 starts, finishing third in his seven furlong debut in July, 2019 and a troubled fourth in the Grade III Native Diver Stakes two starts back on Nov. 21 at Del Mar.

With a recent race to his credit, Royal Ship, a 5-year-old gelding by Midshipman, looms dangerous in what will be his fifth stateside start for Mandella with regular rider Mike Smith back aboard. A winner of five consecutive turf races in Brazil, Royal Ship, who will be making his 12th career start, need only finish as well on dirt as he did in the grassy Kilroe on March 6 to be a major factor Saturday as he seeks his first local win.

THE GRADE II CALIFORNIAN WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4:30 p.m. PT

Growth Engine—Tyler Baze—122
Magic On Tap—Umberto Rispoli—122
Country Grammer—Abel Cedillo–124
Royal Ship—Mike Smith—122
Independence Hall—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.

SUPERSTITION & STREAKING LEGGS GALORE SQUARE OFF IN SATURDAY’S $75,000 MIZDIRECTION STAKES AT SIX FURLONGS ON TURF

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 14, 2021)—A pair of talented 4-year-old fillies in top form, Richard Mandella’s Superstition and Phil D’Amato’s Leggs Galore, meet for the first time as six older fillies and mares meet in Saturday’s $75,000 Mizdirection Stakes at six furlongs over the Santa Anita turf. With favoritism likely to be hotly contested, Superstition, an $850,000 Keeneland September Yearling, has pedigree in her corner, while California-bred Leggs Galore, who seeks her sixth consecutive turf sprint win, may be from the wrong side of the tracks, but she’s been nothing short of brilliant in a pair of recent stakes wins versus statebred competition.

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Ghostzapper, out of the Distorted Humor mare Grand Glory, Superstition stalked a sizzling opening quarter mile of 20.60 and a half of 43 flat before taking command a furlong out in the restricted Wishing Well Stakes going 6 ½ furlongs here on Feb. 15. Ridden by Flavien Prat in all seven of her races, Superstition has won three out of her last four and it’s worth noting that in addition to holding well-backed Oleksandra safe by 1 ½ lengths in the Wishing Well, she remained totally dominant on the gallop out around the Club House turn.

Owned by Ramona and Perry Bass, Superstition, who was a well beaten fourth by rising star Charmaine’s Mia two starts back in the Grade III Las Cienegas Stakes, will need to be within striking distance of Leggs Galore heading into the far turn, or she may have too tall of an order when asked to close the gap through the lane. With an overall mark of 7-3-2-1, Superstition has earnings of $153,180.

Owned and bred in California by William Sims, Leggs Galore has simply been uncatchable of late. By 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern, Leggs Galore opened up four lengths in the first quarter mile en route to a dominating 2 ¼ length score going six furlongs on turf in the Cal-bred Irish O’Brien Stakes March 14, earning a career-top 93 Beyer Speed figure.

Distanced in a pair of main track sprints versus open maiden company in March and April of 2020 at Oaklawn Park, Leggs Galore, who is out of the Indian Charlie mare Cashing Tickets, prevailed by a head in an open allowance here three starts back will thus be facing open competition for the second time in Southern California on Saturday.

With Ricky Gonzalez back aboard for the fifth consecutive time, there’s little doubt that Leggs Galore will again blast off and try to maintain her advantage in gate to wire fashion as she seeks her sixth consecutive win and third stakes win in-a-row.

A graded turf stakes winner over the course, Doug O’Neill’s Biddy Duke has been facing top competition on dirt in her last four starts, three of them in graded stakes. A gate to wire winner of the Grade III Senator Ken Maddy Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on grass five starts back on Oct. 24, Biddy Duke has the kind of speed that could prove hazardous to the likes of Leggs Galore.

Owned by Joseph Besecker, Biddy Duke, a 4-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Bayern, will be ridden for the first time by apprentice Alexis Centeno, who will no doubt let her roll early. With seven wins from 24 starts, Biddy Duke has earnings of $314,120.

A winner of the ungraded Desert Code Stakes going 5 ½ furlongs on turf here three starts back on June 6, Peter Miller’s She’s So Special has been idle since well beaten in an ungraded stakes going 6 ½ furlongs on turf at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 15. Owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, She’s So Special was a close fourth in the Grade II San Clemente Stakes two starts back and certainly has the credentials to win off the bench on Saturday. With four wins from 11 starts, she has earnings of $170,580.

THE $75,000 MIZDIRECTION STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

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

Annangel—Abel Cedillo–122
Superstition—Flavien Prat—124
Constantia—Umberto Rispoli—120
Biddy Duke—Alexis Centeno—124
Leggs Galore—Ricardo Gonzalez—124
She’s So Special—Jose Valdivia, Jr.–124

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.

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