Santa Anita Stable Notes Friday, Feb. 21, 2025

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN
FRIDAY, FEB. 21, 2025

Jockey Flavien Prat guides Gaming to the winner’s circle after their victory in the Grade I, $300,000 Del Mar Futurity, Sunday, September 8, 2024 at Del Mar Thoroughbred CLub, Del Mar CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO

WORKS: GAMING RETURNS TO TAB FOR BAFFERT

Gaming, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up, worked for the first time Friday since an eighth-place finish in the GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park Jan. 25. He was one of 62 horses to record timed workouts at Santa Anita.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Gaming earned a bullet when drilling five furlongs in 59.40 seconds. In the 1 1/16-mile Southwest, Gaming was rank early under Juan Hernandez and had to check on the first turn while in tight quarters. He was never a factor from there and crossed the wire second-to-last.

Last year, the Game Winner colt won the GI Del Mar Futurity going seven furlongs before finishing second to stablemate Citizen Bull in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Nov. 1 at Del Mar. He closed out his juvenile campaign with a third-place effort in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity in December.

Baffert also worked Splendora, who was second in the GI La Brea on Dec. 26 and most recently fourth in the GII Santa Monica on Feb. 1, both going seven furlongs. In her first work since the Santa Monica, the 4-year-old Audible filly went four furlongs in 48.0 seconds.

Rashmi, trained by Jonathan Thomas, worked for the first time since winning the GIII Megahertz on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old Oscar Performance filly drilled four furlongs in 50.0 seconds. Owned and bred by Augustin Stables, Rashmi was fourth in the 1 ¼-mile GI American Oaks Dec. 26 at Santa Anita prior to winning the Megahertz at a mile.

Sareeha, who was fourth in the Megahertz when making her stakes debut for trainer Mark Glatt, also returned to the tab. The 5-year-old Shamardal mare went four furlongs in 48.80 seconds.

HALL OF FAME: O’NEIL, SADLER, SHIRREFFS AMONG FINALISTS

Santa Anita-based trainers Doug O’Neill, John Sadler and John Shirreffs this week were named as finalists for induction into the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. They were joined by former Santa Anita-based horses Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Kona Gold and Rags to Riches.

O’Neill, 56, has won 2,983 races entering Friday which includes the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness with I’ll Have Another and the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Nyquist. He ranks 14th all-time in purse earnings with more than $169 million. O’Neill has trained five Eclipse Award winners. In addition to his two Kentucky Derby victors, Stevie Wonderboy (2-year-old male, 2005), Maryfield (female sprinter, 2007) and Thor’s Echo (sprinter, 2006) all earned year-end championship honors.

Sadler, 68, has won 2,839 races and ranks 17th all-time in purse earnings with more than $153 million. He’s tallied 192 graded stakes victories, which includes a pair of Breeders’ Cup Classics with Eclipse Award-winner Accelerate in 2018 and Horse of the Year Flightline in 2022.

Shirreffs, 79, has won 586 races including 109 graded stakes and banked more than $55 million in purse earnings. Shirreffs is best known for his work with Zenyatta, who he guided to 19 consecutive victories—including 13 Grade 1s—and four Eclipse Awards from 2007 to 2010. Zenyatta, who in 2010 won Horse of the Year, was retired with a record of including 13 Grade Is and four Eclipse Awards, which includes Horse of the Year in 2010.

Blind Luck, trained and co-owned by Jerry Hollendorfer, was 22: 12-7-2 with $3,279,520 in earnings from 2009 through 2011. She won six Grade Is including the 2010 Kentucky Oaks on her way to champion 3-year-old filly honors.

Game On Dude, trained by Bob Baffert, banked $6,498,893 and is the only horse to win the historic Grade I Santa Anita Handicap three times (2011, 2013, 2014). In 2013, he became just the second horse—joining Hall of Famer Lava Man—to win the Santa Anita Handicap, GI Hollywood Gold Cup and GI Pacific Classic in the same year. In all, Game On Dude won 14 graded stakes including eight Grade Is.

Kona Gold, trained and co-owned by Bruce Headley, was the champion sprinter of 2000 when he won five graded stakes including the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs. Kona Gold contested five consecutive Breeders’ Cup Sprints from 1998-2002. He was retired with 10 graded stakes wins and an overall record of 30: 14-7-2 with $2,293,384 in earnings.

Rags to Riches in 2007 earned her first three career wins at Santa Anita which included the GI Las Virgenes and GI Santa Anita Oaks. Trained by Todd Pletcher, she would go on to win that year’s Kentucky Oaks before making Turf history when becoming the first filly in 102 years to win the Belmont Stakes. She was retired with a record of 7: 5-0-1 and $1,342,528 in earnings.

PAPA CLEM

Benoit Photo

STUTE ON PAPA CLEM: ‘PROBABLY THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE’

Papa Clem, the millionaire racehorse who took owner-breeder Bo Hirsch and trainer Gary Stute to the 2009 Kentucky Derby, recently died at the age of 19 in Turkey where he had been a stallion.

By Smart Strike out of Grade I winner Miss Houdini, who Hirsch also bred, Papa Clem won the 2009 Arkansas Derby, then a Grade II, before finishing fourth in that year’s Kentucky Derby won by 50-1 longshot Mine That Bird. Those efforts came after Papa Clem finished second in both the Grade II Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita and Grade II Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds while on the Kentucky Derby trail.

“That was probably the best time of my life,” Stute said Friday morning. “There’s nothing like the Kentucky Derby. He was just a special horse that took me places I’d never been.”

Papa Clem is by far the most accomplished horse trained by Stute, son of legendary Southern California horsemen Mel Stute, whose career dates to the early 1980s. Papa Clem would also win the GII San Fernando as a 4-year-old at Santa Anita before being retired with a record of 13: 3-2-2 and $1,121,190 in earnings.

Papa Clem was the second foal out of Miss Houdini, who would later produce 2021 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Ce Ce for Hirsch and trainer Michael McCarthy. Papa Clem was named in honor of Hirsch’s father, Clement L. Hirsch, himself a giant in California racing who is enshrined in the Racing Hall of Fame as a “Pillar of the Turf.”

In the Arkansas Derby, Papa Clem came from off the pace to win by a half-length under Rafael Bejarano. Stute called it “the happiest day of my life.

“He was a horse that always showed speed, but Rafael was asking him and he didn’t show it that day,” Stute recalled. “I thought, ‘This is going to be horrible.’ But then all of a sudden down the backstretch it was like, ‘Here he comes.’ It was incredible. I was so glad my dad was still alive to witness it.”

After his retirement from racing, Papa Clem stood in California from 2011-2017. He was then sold and relocated to Turkey. According to Blood-Horse statistics, Papa Clem sired 164 winners overall and 12 black-type winners. In Turkey, he also sired two runners who won stakes recognized as Group 1s in that country. Papa Clem’s last foals are 2-year-olds this year.

“He was just a wonderful horse,” Stute said.

FINISH LINES: Friday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:21 p.m. PT with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park…Nominations close Friday for next weekend’s GI Santa Anita Handicap, GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile, GII San Felipe, GII Buena Vista and GIII Fasig-Tipton Santa Ysabel Stakes…Jockeys Flavien Prat had another three-win day Monday. He now leads the jockey’s standings with 34 wins at the stand. Prat won the opener with Tariff ($4) for trainer Peter Eurton, the fourth on Prime And Ready ($3.60) for trainer Richard Baltas and the eighth aboard Cali Cat ($3.60) for trainer John Sadler…Jockey Welfin Orantes, 25, had his first two-win day at Santa Anita Monday. He won the second race on Mongolian Max ($7.80) for trainer Enebish Ganbat and the seventh race with Runnin Ute ($6) for trainer D. Wayne Baker. Orantes has won 24 races since his career began in 2022…Saturday’s feature is the $100,000 Wishing Well Stakes for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on turf. Queen Maxima, ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Jeff Mullins, is the 3-5 morning line favorite. The Wishing Well goes as the third race at approximately 1:30 p.m. PT…Horseplayer Tommy Massis will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Saturday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:20 a.m. PT…Santa Anita is hosting a donation drive for fire relief Sunday in the parking lot from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. All those who donate can enjoy a complimentary day at the races with free admission, free parking and free program.