KENTUCKIAN, EASTWOOD &LORD SIMBA ALL PROMINENT IN SATURDAY’S GIII LOS ANGELES STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

KENTUCKIAN, EASTWOOD & LORD SIMBA ALL PROMINENT IN SATURDAY’S GRADE III, $100,000 LOS ANGELES STAKES AT SIX FURLONGS

ARCADIA, Calif. (April 12, 2017)—Kentuckian, Eastwood and Lord Simba head a field of five three year olds and up in Saturday’s Grade III, $100,000 Los Angeles Stakes, to be contested at six furlongs over Santa Anita’s main track.

A graded stakes winner 23 months ago, Jerry Hollendorfer’s Kentuckian comes off a sharp recent allowance win, while lightly raced Eastwood will be making his first start for Richard Mandella. Bob Baffert’s Lord Simba would have to be considered the up and comer in the field as he exits a smashing six furlong maiden score here on March 19.

KENTUCKIAN: A 6 ¼ length winner of the Grade III, seven furlong Lazaro Barrera Stakes in May, 2015, he had been idle since Sept. 30, 2016 prior to taking a second condition allowance by a neck here on Feb. 20 and appears set for a top effort. A 5-year-old full horse by Tiznow, Kentuckian is owned by Fox Hill Farm and will be ridden for the first time by Stewart Elliott on Saturday. With an overall mark of 8-3-0-3, he has earnings of $171,485.

EASTWOOD: Formerly trained by Todd Pletcher, this 7-year-old son of Speightstown has been idle since running a respectable fourth in the Grade II, six furlong True North Stakes at Belmont Park on June 5. Lightly raced, he’s 9-4-1-2 overall and will be making only his third stakes start on Saturday. Owned by Town and Country Farms LLC, he has earnings of $243,200 and will be ridden for the first time by Norberto Arroyo, Jr.

LORD SIMBA: This 4-year-old Discreet Cat colt could be the quickest of the quick in the L.A. Stakes field. Off at 1-5 in his eight length maiden romp on March 19, he earned an L.A. best last-out Beyer Speed figure of 97 and will therefore be well supported in the tote. Owned by Baoma Corporation, he had three consecutive second place finishes prior to breaking his maiden. With Baffert mapping strategy, he’ll be ridden back by Martin Garcia.

THE LOS ANGELES STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 4 of 10 Approximate post time 2:30 p.m. PT

1. Kentuckian—Stewart Elliott—122
2. Grazen Sky—Edwin Maldonado – 122
3. Ike Walker—Santiago Gonzalez—122
4. Lord Simba—Martin Garcia—122
5. Eastwood—Norberto Arroyo, Jr.—122

First post time for a nine-race card on Saturday is at 1 p.m. Admission gates open at 11 a.m. For scratches, changes and complete morning line information, please visit /www.santaanita.com/horse-racing/live-racing/”.

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.

Santa Anita Park

@santaanitapark

@SAPublicity

@ClockersCorner