Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025

Posted On 27 Jan 2025

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN
SUNDAY, JAN. 26, 2025

WORKS: BARNES, TAMARA AMONG NOTABLES ON TAB
O’NEILL UNDECIDED ON BIG CAP FOR SAN PASQUAL WINNER KATONAH
PICK 6 CARRYOVER OF 35K FOR SUNDAY’S 10-RACE CARD
3-YEAR-OLDS IN SPOTLIGHT NEXT WEEKEND AT SANTA ANITA
SUNDAY’S $1 COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 STARTS at 1:49 P.M. PT

WORKS: BARNES, TAMARA AMONG NOTABLES ON TAB
With only intermittent drizzles of rain Sunday morning at Santa Anita, training proceeded as scheduled. Among the notable workers were the 3-year-olds Barnes, Getaway Car and Rodriguez for trainer Bob Baffert, and Grade I winner Tamara for trainer Richard Mandella.
Barnes, Getaway Car and Rodriguez are all nominated to this Saturday’s GII Robert B. Lewis going a mile at Santa Anita. Barnes, who won the GII San Vicente going seven furlongs in his stakes debut Jan. 4, worked four furlongs in 48.60 seconds. Barnes closed as the 6-1 individual favorite in last weekend’s Kentucky Derby Future Wager.
Getaway Car and Rodriguez worked in company and were each clocked in 59.60 seconds, which tied for the fourth-fastest of 36 works at the distance. Getaway Car, by Curlin, most recently was second in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 14. Rodriguez exits a promising maiden win going a mile at Santa Anita on Jan. 4.
Tamara worked for the second time since being scratched from the GI La Brea on Dec. 26 due to a fever. The daughter of Bolt d’Oro and Hall of Fame mare Beholder worked four furlongs in 47.20 seconds. Last Sunday, Tamara returned to the tab with a three-furlong work in 37.20 seconds.
In all, there were 129 timed workouts between the main track and training track.

O’NEILL UNDECIDED ON BIG ‘CAP FOR GII SAN PASQUAL WINNER KATONAH
It remains to be determined if Katonah, winner of Saturday’s GII San Pasqual Stakes, goes on to the GI Santa Anita Handicap on March 1, trainer Doug O’Neill said Sunday morning.
In the 1 1/8-mile San Pasqual, Katonah rallied from last under Tiago Pereira to win by two lengths. It was Katonah’s first win since the Pleasanton Mile in 2023. Last year, Katonah competed in five graded stakes with his best finish being a second in the GII San Diego at Del Mar.
A 6-year-old gelding by Klimt, Katonah is owned by Ron Arakelian’s R3 Racing LLC.
“Still on Cloud 9 watching him win yesterday,” O’Neill said via text message. “I need to huddle up with his owner (with regards to the Big ‘Cap).”
O’Neill on Sunday was travelling back to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia, where a day earlier he saddled E J Won the Cup to a sixth-place finish in a Group III event that served as an automatic qualifier to the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 22.
Finishing a good second in the San Pasqual was Express Train. After the race, trainer John Shirreffs said he would target the Big ‘Cap, which Express Train won in 2022. An 8-year-old full horse by Union Rags, Express Train has shown steady improvement in four starts after being sidelined from October 2022 to April 2024, a span of more than 18 months.

3-YEAR-OLDS IN THE SPOTLIGHT NEXT WEEKEND AT SANTA ANITA
Santa Anita will host five stakes next weekend including the GIII Robert B. Lewis for 3-year-olds on Saturday and the GIII Fasig-Tipton Las Virgenes for 3-year-old fillies on Sunday.
The Lewis is contested at one mile and offers qualifying points to this year’s Kentucky Derby. It also serves as a prep for the GI Santa Anita Derby on April 5. The Las Virgenes, also at a mile, is a point-paying prep for the Kentucky Oaks. It also is part of Santa Anita’s 3-year-old fillies series culminating with the GII Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita Oaks on April 5.
A total of 13 sophomores are nominated to the Lewis. Trainer Bob Baffert has six of the nominees including last year’s 2-year-old champion, Citizen Bull. Trainer Michael McCarthy nominated Bullard, who most recently was third in the GIII San Vicente going seven furlongs Jan. 4 at Santa Anita.
The rest of the Lewis nominees with trainer are Baeza (Shirreffs), Barnes (Baffert), Clock Tower (W. Ward), Fomo Joe (Hanson), Getaway Car (Baffert), Madaket Road (Baffert), Rank (O’Neill), Rodriguez (Baffert), Romanesque (Baffert) Smooth Cruisein (Headley) and Valentines Candy (J. Mendoza).
The Las Virgenes has 13 sophomore fillies nominated led by Grade I Tenma for Baffert. Also among the baker’s dozen of nominees are Fasig-Tipton Santa Ynez winner Look Forward for McCarthy and Artisma, trained by Richard Baltas, who was a head back of Look Forward in the Santa Ynez.
The remaining nominees for the Santa Ynez are A.Z. Wildcat (Sadler), As Catch Can (Thomas), Casalu (Baffert), Cipriani (Baffert), In the Air Tonight (Knapp), Just As Fancy (McCarthy), Lolo Le Plume (Hess), Our Moonlight (Pederson), Silent Law (Baffert) and Will Then (Thomas).
In addition to the Lewis on Saturday, Santa Anita will also run the GII Santa Monica for fillies and mares going seven furlongs; GIII Thunder Road for older horses at a mile on turf; and GIII Megahertz for older fillies and mares at a mile on turf.
Saturday’s card will be drawn on Monday.

FINISH LINES: Jockey Reylu Gutierrez got his first official win at Santa Anita in Saturday’s sixth race aboard favorite Halo Rando ($3.20) for trainer Dean Pederson. At last year’s Santa Anita Autumn Meet, Gutierrez crossed the wire first in the GIII Zuma Beach aboard Artislas, but was disqualified for interference near the wire…Jockey Tiago Pereira won two races Saturday including the featured GII San Pasqual on Katonah ($13.40) for trainer Doug O’Neill…Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:49 p.m. PT with the 10th race from Gulfstream Park…Following Sunday’s card, racing will resume at Santa Anita on Friday. The card will be set later Sunday.