PRIZE EXHIBIT, WATCH THIS CAT HEADLINE SATURDAY’S GRADE III LAS CIENEGAS STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

GRADED STAKES WINNER PRIZE EXHIBIT AND COURSE SPECIALIST WATCH THIS CAT LEAD THE FIELD IN SATURDAY’S GRADE III, $100,000 LAS CIENEGAS STAKES FOR FILLIES AND MARES GOING SIX AND A HALF FURLONGS DOWN HILLSIDE TURF COURSE

DP Racing’s Prize Exhibit and jockey Santiago Gonzalez win the Gr. II, $200,000 Monrovia Stakes Sunday, January 3, 2016 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, CA.

ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 4, 2017) – Graded stakes winner Prize Exhibit and recent course specialist Watch This Cat head a field of five fillies and mares in Saturday’s 43rd running of the Grade III, $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes at Santa Anita going six and a half furlongs down the Camino Real hillside Turf Course.

Trained by Jim Cassidy and owned by Deron Pearson’s D P Racing, Prize Exhibit, almost exclusively a stakes router since coming to the U.S. in late 2014, will run in her 21st stakes race on Saturday, her 17th graded.

A winner of the Grade II Monrovia Stakes on Jan. 3, 2016 down the hill, Prize Exhibit went on to have an inconsistent year but will shorten up in distance and return to the hill for the first time since her Monrovia success.

A 5-year-old mare by Showcasting, bred in Great Britain by Mrs. R. F. Johnson Houghton, Prize Exhibit has an overall record of 30-6-3-2 and has amassed earnings of $577,045.

Trained by Richard Baltas and owned by Harry Bederian, Harout Kamberian and Hagop Nakkashian, Watch This Cat, a 5-year-old mare by Eskendereya, is two for two down Santa Anita’s hillside turf course in her last two outings. Claimed out of a dirt mile effort for $32,000 on June 6, Watch This Cat, who’s only added money attempt came at Woodbine with then trainer Mark Casse in May of 2015 (a fifth place finish in the Grade III, Selene Stakes over Woodbine’s Tapeta surface) will jump up in class in a big way on Saturday. Watch This Cat will try to make it three in a row with new rider, and Santa Anita turf specialist, Corey Nakatani at the helm.

Watch This Cat, bred in Kentucky by Hinkle Farms, has a career record of 15-3-4-1- overall with $104,220 in earnings.

Off since March 20, trainer Mark Glatt’s Cadet Roni will try the hillside for the first time as she comes off of a third place finish in the Grade III Las Flores sprinting over the main track and a victory in the Jan. 31 Wishing Well Stakes, which was taken off the hillside turf course due to weather and run over a wet fast main track. She will again be ridden by Rafael Bejarano on Saturday and will break from the rail.

The 5-year-old mare by Colonel John, bred by Kentucky’s WinStar Farm and owned by Saundra and Al Kirkwood, has a record of 12-4-1-3 with career earnings of $160,840.

The field, including jockeys and weights, for the Grade III Las Cienegas Stakes –
Race 3 – Approximate post time of 1:30 p.m.

1. Cadet Roni, Rafael Bejarano, 122
2. Paquita Coqueta, Flavien Prat, 120
3. Lajatico, Drayden Van Dyke, 120
4. Prize Exhibit, Mike Smith, 120
5. Watch This Cat, Corey Nakatani, 120

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday at Santa Anita is at 12:30 p.m. For scratches, changes and complete morning line information, please visit santaanita.com.

About Us
Santa Anita Park is a Stronach Group company, North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, Golden Gate Fields, Portland Meadows, Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course, home of the world-famous Preakness. The company owns and operates the Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, and is one of North America’s top race horse breeders through its award-winning Adena Springs operation. The Stronach Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of pari-mutuel wagering systems, technologies and services. Its companies include AmTote, a global leader in wagering technology; Xpressbet, an Internet and telephone account wagering service; and Monarch Content Management, which acts as a simulcast purchase and sales agent of horseracing content for numerous North American racetracks and wagering outlets. The Stronach Group is North America’s premier supplier of virtual online horseracing games, as well as a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.