Santa Anita Stable Notes Saturday, March 28, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2026

GIII SAN CARLOS: GI WINNERS SUBSANADOR, STRONGHOLD RETURN
WORKS: SO HAPPY, START THE RIDE, MEANING, JOURNALISM ON TAB
SPECIAL THURSDAY CARD BEGINS CLOSING WEEK OF CLASSIC MEET
GIII SAN CARLOS: GI WINNERS SUBSANADOR, STRONGHOLD RETURN

A competitive edition of the Grade III San Carlos going seven furlongs on Sunday includes the highly talented Cornucopian, who is the 6-5 program favorite for trainer Bob Baffert, and a pair of Grade I winners returning from layoffs in Subsanador and Stronghold.
Subsanador hasn’t started since September 2024 when he won the Grade I California Crown going 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita. Subsanador’s trainer, Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, described his lengthy layoff “long and frustrating.” Mandella noted that what appeared to be just a minor setback, which he did not specify, “just didn’t get better as fast as we had hoped.”
Subsanador’s troubles are now all in the past. He has been working steadily at Santa Anita since the end of January for his comeback. On Wednesday, as Mandella is wont to do in the days before a race, 7-year-old Subsanador had a three-furlong “blowout” timed in 35.8 seconds.
“He looks as good as ever to me,” Mandella said. “I’ve had pretty good years with 7-year-olds.”
In a field of seven signed on, Subsanador will break from post four under Mike Smith. He is 5-1 on the morning line.
“(Sprinting) is not his thing and I’d be happy if he sat back and made a good run to set him up for the future,” Mandella said. “But I’d prefer if he made a run and got up and won.”
Stronghold is trained by Phil D’Amato. The millionaire homebred for Eric and Sharon Waller is best known for winning the GI Santa Anita Derby in 2024.
A 5-year-old horse by Ghostzapper, Stronghold hasn’t started finishing second by a half-length in the GII Pat O’Brien going seven furlongs last summer at Del Mar. He has worked eight times since late January at Santa Anita for his comeback.
“He’s the same old horse from what I’ve seen, just very classy and professional,” D’Amato said. “You put a horse in front of him and he wants to go by.”
Stronghold is also at 5-1 on the morning line. He’ll break from post two under Antonio Fresu.
“It will come down to the trip,” D’Amato said. “I think he was trip compromised in his last race at Del Mar. I think he should have won. He’s one of those horses that can put himself in a tactical spot. We’ll have to see how it plays out from there.”
The San Carlos goes as the sixth race on a nine-race card Sunday. First post is 1 p.m. PT and the San Carlos goes at 3:39 p.m. The field in post position order: Bartholdy, Tyler Baze (6-1); Stronghold, Antonio Fresu (5-1); LIstenupshance, Emisael Jaramillo (8-1); Subsanador, Mike Smith (5-1); Getaway Car, Florent Geroux (6-1); Cornucopian, Juan Hernandez (6-5); Judge Miller, Kazushi Kimura (12-1).

WORKS: SO HAPPY, START THE RIDE, MEANING, JOURNALISM ON TAB
So Happy and Start the Ride, both expected to run in next Saturday’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby, top GII Santa Anita Oaks contender Meaning and stablemate Journalism were among the notables on the work tab Saturday at Santa Anita.
So Happy worked five furlongs in 1:00.0. Trained by Mark Glatt, the colt by Runhappy most recently finished third in the GII San Felipe when trying to turns for the first time.
Start the Ride, trained by Dan Blacker, worked five furlongs in 1:01.8. A colt by Upstart, Start the Ride was never a factor in the San Felipe and finished sixth. He previously won the California Chrome Cal Cup Derby going 1 1/16 miles in January at Santa Anita.
Meaning and Journalism are both trained by Michael McCarthy. Meaning, a daughter of Gun Runner, worked five furlongs in 1:00.2. The likely Oaks favorite most recently won the Las Virgenes Stakes going one mile on Feb. 8 at Santa Anita.
Journalism continued on the comeback trail with a sharp five-furlong work in 59.8 seconds. It was his sixth work since Feb. 22. Last week, McCarthy said he was looking at three options for Journalism’s return start. The 4-year-old classic winner by Curlin could either run in the GII Oaklawn Handicap or GIII Ben Ali at Keeneland, both at 1 1/8 miles on April 18; or the GII Alysheba at 1 1/16 miles on May 1 at Churchill Downs.
In addition to Meaning, three other fillies nominated to next week’s Santa Anita Oaks also worked. Brooklyn Blonde worked five furlongs in 1:01.6. Another daughter of Gun Runner trained by McCarthy, Brooklyn Blonde most recently broke her maiden when stretched out to a mile on March 1 at Santa Anita.
Oaks nominee Cee Drew worked four furlongs in 49.2 seconds. A California-bred daughter of Cistron trained by Blacker, Cee Drew most recently finished fifth in the GIII Santa Ysabel at 1 1/16 miles on March 8.
Oaks nominee Heaven’s Bolt worked five furlongs in 1:01.4. Trained by Richard Baltas, the daughter of Bolt d’Oro last year finished off the board in both the GII Oak Leaf at Santa Anita and seven-furlong Desi Arnaz at Del Mar. On Feb. 8, Heaven’s Bolt returned from a nearly three-month layoff in a turf allowance at Santa Anita. She dueled on the lead that day before weakening to fifth.

SPECIAL THURSDAY CARD KICKS OFF CLOSING WEEK OF CLASSIC MEET
Next week is the final week of the Santa Anita Classic Meet. There will be four consecutive days of racing starting this Thursday, which is a makeup card for earlier weather-related cancellations, and ending with closing day on Sunday, April 5 when there will be mandatory payouts in all pari-mutuel pools.
Highlighting closing week is a stakes-laden Santa Anita Derby day program on Saturday. In addition to the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby, the card will also feature the GII Santa Anita Oaks, GIII Monrovia Stakes and both the Echo Eddie and Evening Jewel for California-breds. Entries for Santa Anita Derby day will be taken on Monday.
One storyline to follow as the meet winds down is the race for leading jockey. With six race days remaining in the stand, Emisael Jaramillo is poised to claim his first Santa Anita riding title in his first season riding full-time at Santa Anita. Entering Saturday, the 48-year-old native of Venezuela had won 40 races from 192 mounts (21 percent), which is six wins ahead of perennial Santa Anita leading rider Juan Hernandez.
After closing day of the Classic Meet, Santa Anita will take a one-week break before resuming live racing with the start of the Hollywood Meet on Friday, April 17. The Hollywood Meet runs through Sunday, June 14.

FINISH LINES: Saturday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:40 p.m. PT with 11th race from Gulfstream Park…Saturday’s $1 Sunset Pick Six starts at 2:15 p.m with the 12th race from Gulfstream Park…Horseplayer Richard Sugimoto, who finished fourth in the National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas earlier this month, will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Sunday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:50 a.m. PT.

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced “First”) is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company’s premier racetracks, training centers and premier events including: Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); Laurel Park, The Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and 1/ST TV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company’s live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). For more information, visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.