RECENT GRADE I WINNER CITY OF LIGHT ALL PROMINENT IN WIDE OPEN GI TRIPLE BEND STAKES

By Mike Willman —-

City of Light and jockey Drayden Van Dyke win the Grade I, $300,000 Malibu Stakes, Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia CA.
© BENOIT PHOTO

RECENT GRADE I WINNER CITY OF LIGHT, EDWARDS GOING LEFT & CAPTAIN SCOTTY ALL PROMINENT IN WIDE OPEN GRADE I, $400,000 TRIPLE BEND STAKES AT SEVEN FURLONGS THIS SATURDAY

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 7, 2018)—Up and coming City of Light, Edwards Going Left and Captain Scotty all loom prominent in among a field of six older horses going seven furlongs in Saturday’s Grade I, $400,000 Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita.

Trained by Michael McCarthy, City of Light has been idle since taking the Grade I, seven furlong Malibu Stakes here on Dec. 26 by two lengths in what was his first stakes assignment. A $710,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase in 2015, he’ll be facing older horses for the first time in the Triple Bend.

Trainer John Sadler’s California-bred Edwards Going Left, second to City of Light in the opening day Malibu, crushed state-breds in the six furlong California Cup Sprint Jan. 27 and once again steps back into the deep end of the graded stakes pool in the Triple Bend.

Unbeaten in two sprints, trainer Peter Miller’s Captain Scotty comes off a huge allowance score here Jan. 26 and will get tested for class in his third career start.

CITY OF LIGHT

Owner: Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Trainer: Michael McCarthy
A mega-talented 4-year-old colt by Quality Road, he was a sharp second in his six furlong debut at Los Alamitos July 6 and came back to scorch nine rivals while breaking his maiden by 7 ½ lengths at the same distance Sept. 1 at Del Mar. Second twice at the first condition allowance level on Oct. 7 and Nov. 3, he broke through with a two length score at odds of 7-1 in the Malibu and has trained in tremendous fashion for McCarthy since. With seven recorded workouts dating back to Jan. 14, City of Light has registered four bullet moves, including a half mile in 47 flat on Feb. 24—best of 60 works at the distance. Ridden in his first four starts by Gary Stevens, he’ll be handled for the second time in a row by Drayden Van Dyke on Saturday.

EDWARDS GOING LEFT

Owner: Hronis Racing, LLC Trainer: John Sadler
Second, beaten two lengths by City of Light two starts back in the Grade I Malibu, this 4-year-old California-bred gelding came back to defeat five Cal-bred rivals in the six furlong California Cup Sprint on Jan. 27 and thus looms a live longshot as he steps back into graded stakes competition. Claimed for $50,000 when beaten 20 lengths in his 5 ½ furlong debut Feb. 9, 2017, Edwards Going Left has rewarded his connections with six wins in 10 subsequent starts—two of them in Cal-bred stakes. Proven at the seven furlong distance with two wins, a second and a third from four tries, he’ll hope to answer “the class question” with regular rider Tyler Baze aboard.

CAPTAIN SCOTTY

Owner: Gary Barber and Wachtel Stable Trainer: Peter Miller
Unbeaten in two massive sprint wins, the first being a 6 ¾ score at six furlongs Dec. 3 at Laurel Park, Md., and in his first start for Miller, a crushing, 5 ½ length allowance win at six furlongs here on Jan. 26, this 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Quality Road is being managed aggressively but may well be equal to the challenge with the crafty Miller rolling the dice. Ridden back by Flavien Prat on Jan. 26, he’ll get the services of four-time Eclipse Award Champion Javier Castellano in the Triple Bend, which will no doubt generate additional pari-mutuel interest.

THE GRADE I TRIPLE BEND STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 4 of 11 Approximate post time 1:30 p.m.PT

1. Edwards Going Left—Tyler Baze—120
2. Horse Greedy—Stewart Elliot—120
3. Giant Expectations—Corey Nakatani—122
4. Bobby Abu Dhabi—Victor Espinoza—120
5. City of Light—Drayden Van Dyke–124
6. Captain Scotty—Javier Castellano—120

Special early first post time for an 11-race card on Saturday is at 12 noon. Admission gates open at 10 a.m. For additional information, please visit www.santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

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.