Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN
SUNDAY, FEB. 9, 2025

Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli win the Grade II, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity, Saturday, December 14, 2024 at Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO

WORKS: JOURNALISM, BULLARD, LOOK FORWARD DRILL
PICK 6 CARRYOVER OF $53K FOR SUNDAY’S 9-RACE CARD
SPECIAL PRESIDENTS’ DAY CARD PART OF 4-DAY RACE WEEK
SUNDAY’S COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 STARTS AT 12:49 P.M. PT

WORKS: JOURNALISM, BULLARD, LOOK FORWARD DRILL FOR MCCARTHY

A trio of 3-year-old graded stakes winners—Journalism, Bullard and filly Look Forward—plus Grade I winner Formidable Man, all trained by Michael McCarthy, were among 236 horses to record timed workouts Sunday at Santa Anita.

Journalism, winner of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity in December, drilled five furlongs in 59.80 seconds. The Curlin colt is a candidate to run in the GII San Felipe on March 1 at Santa Anita. Bullard, most recently third in the GII San Vicente going seven furlongs Jan. 4, worked five furlongs in 1:00.80. The Gun Runner colt is possible to return in the GII Rebel Stakes Feb. 22 at Oaklawn Park.

Look Forward, winner of the Fasig-Tipton Santa Ynez Jan. 5, worked five furlongs in 1:00.60. The GIII Fasig-Tipton Santa Ysabel going 1 1/16 miles on March 2 is the next stop on Santa Anita’s stakes series for 3-year-old fillies.

Formidable Man drilled four furlongs in 48.0 seconds. It was his first work since a 12th-place finish in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park.

Champion Straight No Chaser worked five furlongs in 59.0 seconds, which was the third-fastest of 91 works at the distance. Last year’s champion sprinter is scheduled to depart early Tuesday morning for Saudi Arabia, where he will compete in the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint on Feb. 22.

Unbeaten Nysos continued on the comeback trail for trainer Bob Baffert with a four-furlong work in 49.40 seconds. The 4-year-old Nyquist colt hasn’t started since last February when he won the GIII Robert B. Lewis to improve to 3-for-3.

Among trainer Doug O’Neill’s workers were graded stakes-winning older horses J B Strikes Back and Mixto. J B Strikes Back, a candidate for the GI Santa Anita Handicap March 1, worked five furlongs in 1:04.80. Mixto drilled four furlongs in 48.20 seconds. It was his first work since finishing fourth in the GI Pegasus World Cup Jan. 25 at Gulfstream Park.

O’Neill also worked Grade II winner Anarchist, who is nominated to this Saturday’s GIII Palos Verdes Stakes going six furlongs. The 5-year-old Distorted Humor horse worked five furlongs from the gate in 1:01.80. He has not started since September when finishing third in the GIII Korea Sprint in Seoul.

SPECIAL PRESIDENTS’ DAY CARD PART OF 4-DAY RACE WEEK

Santa Anita next week will host four consecutive days of live racing beginning Friday and ending with a special Presidents’ Day card on Monday, Feb. 17.

Kicking off the race week is an eight-race program on Friday. First post is 12:30 p.m. PT. Friday’s card will be run exclusively on dirt. The proactive move by the racing office is the result of a weather forecast calling for up to four inches of rain beginning late Tuesday night and continuing into Friday morning.

Friday’s card includes a one-mile maiden race for 3-year-olds that features well-regarded prospects Baeza and Varney. Baeza, trained by John Shirreffs, is a half-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Varney, who was part of the most recent Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool, is trained by Bob Baffert. The Vekoma colt will stretch out to two turns after finishing third in his debut sprinting 6 ½ furlongs on Jan. 25 at Santa Anita.

Saturday’s card, which will be drawn later Sunday, will feature the GIII Palos Verdes Stakes for older horses sprinting six furlongs. On Sunday, the feature is the Baffle Stakes for 3-year-old sprinting about 6 ½ furlongs on the hillside turf course.

On Presidents’ Day, which is also “Dollar Day” at Santa Anita, on-track patrons will receive $1 beers and sodas and $2 hot dogs.

Ticket packages for all four days can now be purchased at santaanita.com.

FINISH LINES: After Sunday’s races, there is a “Big Game” watch party at Sirona’s. It will include a variety of drink specials as well as “Big Game Bingo” with $1,000 in prizes…Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 12:49 p.m. PT with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park. On Saturday, the Coast to Coast paid $70,048.50 for two winning tickets…Trainer Phil Oviedo and jockey Vincent Cheminaud each won their first races at the Classic Meet Saturday. Oviedo won the third race with longshot Charge For Gold ($32.20), who was ridden by Kyle Frey. Cheminaud scored in the fifth race on favorite Certitude ($5.40) for trainer John Sadler…Saturday’s $3 All-Turf Pick 3 paid $7,989.00. The winning horses were There Goes Harvard ($11.20) in the GIII San Marcos, Tam’s Little Angel ($35.80) in the ninth race and Belmont Bill ($29) in the 10th race.