SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES

By Ed Golden —-

GUNMETAL GRAY

Benoit Photo

• GUNMETAL GRAY EYES ADDITIONAL DERBY POINTS
• SAN PASQUAL DISTANCE SUITS BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• FOX SPORTS SATURDAY TO AIR THE GRADE III LEWIS
• RAINBOW PICK SIX POOL COULD REACH $20 MILLION
• SANTA ANITA RIDERS PLAY CHARITY GAME TONIGHT

LEWIS OFFERS 10 DERBY POINTS TO WINNER

Jerry Hollendorfer hopes Gunmetal Gray doubles his Kentucky Derby qualifying points for Triple Crown candidates in Saturday’s Grade III Robert B. Lewis Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.

Offering $150,000 in purse money, the Lewis awards 10 points to the winner, the same number Gunmetal Gray earned winning the Grade III Sham Stakes at one mile on Jan. 5.

“Mike (Smith) told me Gunmetal Gray can run as far as they can run,” Hollendorfer said, alluding to Mike Smith, who was aboard the Exchange Rate colt for the first time in the Sham, coming from seventh and last at the half-mile marker before getting up to win by a length despite going four wide.

“I hope he’s right.”

As for Battle of Midway going a mile and an eighth in Saturday’s Grade II San Pasqual Stakes after 33 percent of his starts have been at a mile or less, Hollendorfer had no qualms about the five-year-old Smart Strike horse successfully negotiating the distance.

“He ran well in the Kentucky Derby at a mile and a quarter (third by 7 ¾ lengths to Always Dreaming in 2017),” Hollendorfer pointed out, “and he won the Native Diver going a mile and an eighth. The (outside) post is good for him.”

The field for the Lewis, race six of 10 with 12 a noon first post time: Kid Cantina, Geovanni Franco, 20-1; Magnificent McCool, Flavien Prat, 8-1; Easy Shot, Rafael Bejarano, 8-1; Gunmetal Gray, Mike Smith, 9-5; Mucho Gusto, Joe Talamo, 8-5; and Nolo Contesto, Joel Rosario, 5-2.

The field for the San Pasqual, race nine: Pavel, Mario Gutierrez, 8-1; Dalmore, Kent Desormeaux, 20-1; Dabster, Joe Talamo, 5-1; Shivermetimbers, Geovanni Franco, 30-1; Giant Expectations, Joel Rosario, 12-1; Sonneteer, Rafael Bejarano, 20-1; McKinzie, Mike Smith, 4-5; and Battle of Midway, Flavien Prat, 5-2.

FOX SPORTS SATURDAY AT THE RACES RETURNS AIRING LEWIS

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA), FOX Sports and The Stronach Group have announced the return of FOX Sports Saturday At The Races, the live racing television program launched in 2018 to provide nationwide coverage of the best Thoroughbred racing from marquee venues around the country.

Airing on FS2 and produced by NYRA, the telecasts begin this Saturday, Feb. 2 , with a two-and-a-half hour show offering live coverage of the Grade III Withers from Aqueduct, the Grade II Holy Bull from Gulfstream Park and the Grade III Robert B Lewis from Santa Anita.

“FOX Sports Saturday at the Races kicks off year one of our expanded coverage of the very best in horse racing,” said Michael Mulvihill, FOX Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy. “The races we are showcasing this Spring have produced five of the last six Kentucky Derby champions, including the immortal American Pharoah. As a horseplayer, you simply can’t be prepared for the Triple Crown without seeing these races. We are very excited to present these key stops on the road to the Triple Crown.”

The year 2019 will see 12 editions of FOX Sports Saturday at the Races airing on FS2 with more than 24 hours of in-depth coverage and analysis of major stakes races and key Triple Crown preps such as the Grade II Fountain of Youth, Grade II San Felipe, Grade III Gotham, and the Grade III Withers.

The 2019 package of live shows builds on the 2018 schedule, when FOX Sports Saturday at the Races aired on six Saturdays providing a national audience on FS2 with 17 hours of live horse racing.

Santa Anita’s Michelle Yu will be reporting on the Robert Lewis, which has a projected “off time” of 2:56 p.m. PT.

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL FOR CITY OF LIGHT

Trainer Michael McCarthy was back on the beat early Thursday at Santa Anita relatively bright-eyed and bushy-tailed despite cloudy skies that were a harbinger of imminent rain.

Sated emotions remained fulfilled after he saddled City of Light to a powerful 5 ¾-length triumph over Horse of the Year runner-up Accelerate and 10 others in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park last Saturday.

Now, the son of Quality Road begins a stud career at Lane’s End in Kentucky.

“It was very satisfying, obviously,” McCarthy said of the victory. “I’m so happy for the horse to go out like that . . . He’s obviously a valuable commodity and hopefully the second half of his career will be as brilliant as the first half

“In watching his race at Gulfstream, it was unbelievable. I saw Javier (Castellano) shift out around the first turn, which was just a great move. I was watching them down the backside and when they were approaching the three-eighths pole, I went back a little bit (with his binoculars) to see how Accelerate was doing.

“When I came back to the leaders at the quarter pole, I couldn’t find my horse! I put the binoculars down and he was just bounding along . . . I didn’t yell or jump up and down or anything. It was just like an out of body experience all the way to the wire. He’s just an incredibly talented horse.”

$2 MILLION GUARANTEED POOL IN 20 CENT RAINBOW PICK 6 JACKPOT

Rainbow Six mania is about to overtake Santa Anita as The Great Race Place steams toward a potential $20 million mandatory payout pool in the popular 20 cent Single Ticket Jackpot wager this Saturday, Feb. 2.

With a crush of $450,982 in “new” money, Sunday’s total live money Rainbow Pick Six Jackpot pool reached $1,817,578. And, with Santa Anita guaranteeing another $2 million Jackpot both today and Friday, it seems certain there will be a $2 million live money pool on Saturday, which track officials project could possibly balloon to a total mandatory payout pool of more than $20 million.

With six consolation winning tickets on Friday each worth $19,448.60, there were 36 consolation winners Saturday, each returning $5,226. While there were once again no single ticket winners Sunday, 75 consolation tickets with six winners each paid $3,199.90, resulting in an average daily consolation payout through 20 racing days of $7,893.20.

Approximate post time for Thursday’s third race, the beginning of the Rainbow Six, is at 1:30 p.m. PT. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE.

SANTA ANITA JOCKEYS SET FOR CHARITY BASKETBALL GAME TONIGHT

The 52nd annual Santa Anita Jockeys vs. Holy Angels Elementary School Charity Basketball Game will be played tonight at La Salle High School in Pasadena.

Proceeds from the game will benefit Holy Angels Athletics and the Bill Hartack
Charitable Foundation, which contributes to several Thoroughbred racing industry charities and presents the winning rider in each year’s Kentucky Derby with the Hartack Memorial Award. It is named in honor of the late Hall of Fame jockey, William Hartack, who along with Eddie Arcaro, won the Kentucky Derby a record five times.

With tip-off set for 7:05 p.m., Hall of Fame jockeys Kent Desormeaux, Laffit Pincay, Jr., Mike Smith, Alex Solis and Gary Stevens will be available at center court for an autograph session beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The jockeys’ squad will be under the direction of Tony Vong, who also serves as “Big Money” Mike Smith’s personal trainer, while the Holy Angels will be coached by Michael Hernandez and Job Rivera.

Tickets are $5 per person, and for every two tickets purchased, individuals will receive one free admission ticket to Santa Anita Park.

La Salle High School is located at the southwest corner of Sierra Madre Blvd. and Michillinda Ave. in Pasadena, approximately three miles from Santa Anita.

Admission tickets and promotional tee shirts are on sale at Champions! Gifts and Apparel in Santa Anita’s East Paddock Gardens, or through Holy Angels School in Arcadia.

LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV

STRONACH 5 ALL-STAR TICKET FOR FEBRUARY 1ST, 2019

BOB BAFFERT SHEDROW STROLL: GET TO KNOW IMPROBABLE, THE UNDEFEATED THREE-YEAR-OLD ON THE DERBY TRAIL
BOB BAFFERT SHEDROW STROLL: GET TO KNOW HECK YEAH

MICHAEL MCCARTHY SHEDROW STROLL: GET TO KNOW CITY OF LIGHT

COLISEUM (OUTSIDE) AND SPEED FREAK WORKING FROM THE GATE

UNDEFEATED GAME WINNER WORKING 5-FURLONGS

MEGAHERTZ CHAMP VASILIKA WORKING 4-FURLONGS

MCKINZIE (OUTSIDE) AND SHOW ME DA LUTE PREPARING FOR SAN PASQUAL STAKES

GUNMETAL GRAY’S FINAL MAJOR WORK IN PREPARATION FOR SATURDAY’S ROBERT B. LEWIS STAKES

MUCHO GUSTO (OUTSIDE) PREPARING FOR ROBERT B. LEWIS STAKES ALONG WITH ROMAN ROSSO

DABSTER (OUTSIDE) PREPARING FOR SAN PASQUAL STAKES WITH NERO

FINISH LINES: Multiple Grade I winner Paradise Woods is working forwardly for her new trainer, John Shirreffs, who is eagerly looking forward to her debut under his guidance in the Grade II Santa Monica Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 16.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS
(Current Through Sunday, Jan. 27)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 92 24 17 13 26% 59% $1,484,370
Joel Rosario 102 19 17 17 19% 52% $1,139,460
Heriberto Figueroa 94 17 8 13 18% 40% $565,316
Geovanni Franco 90 13 9 11 14% 37% $625,325
Tiago Pereira 67 13 7 6 19% 39% $458,974
Mike Smith 35 12 7 6 34% 71% $799,110
Drayden Van Dyke 76 10 12 10 13% 42% $594,081
Rafael Bejarano 72 10 11 8 14% 40% $537,812
Tyler Baze 106 7 21 14 7% 40% $693,917
Joseph Talamo 76 7 13 12 9% 42% $578,265
Kent Desormeaux 49 7 5 11 14% 47% $547,848
Assael Espinoza 58 7 2 9 12% 31% $225,209
Ruben Fuentes 53 5 7 10 9% 42% $204,119
Martin Pedroza 37 5 3 2 14% 27% $141,838
Agapito Delgadillo 28 4 5 3 14% 43% $114,862
Edwin Maldonado 34 4 5 1 12% 29% $181,600

Trainer Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Doug O’Neill 73 14 14 8 19% 49% $577,100
Peter Miller 59 12 11 7 20% 51% $736,768
Richard Baltas 61 10 14 11 16% 57% $719,037
Jerry Hollendorfer 48 10 6 6 21% 46% $570,471
J. Keith Desormeaux 31 9 5 4 29% 58% $338,940
Philip D’Amato 45 7 7 5 16% 42% $479,585
William E. Morey 31 7 5 5 23% 55% $313,159
John Sadler 39 6 9 7 15% 56% $460,688
Jeff Mullins 31 6 6 6 19% 58% $446,024
Mark Glatt 32 5 6 5 16% 50% $213,756
Bob Baffert 33 4 4 5 12% 39% $473,422
Hector O. Palma 26 4 4 2 15% 38% $125,065
Vladimir Cerin 26 4 3 3 15% 38% $190,753
Brian Koriner 18 4 3 1 22% 44% $321,282
Simon Callaghan 19 4 2 5 21% 58% $236,943
Steve Knapp 24 4 1 5 17% 42% $95,745
William Spawr 11 4 1 2 36% 64% $108,016
Richard Mandella 19 4 1 2 21% 37% $145,185

ABOUT SANTA ANITA PARK
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.

ABOUT THE STRONACH GROUP
The Stronach Group is North America’s leading Thoroughbred racetrack owner/operator. The Stronach Group racetracks include Santa Anita Park, Gulfstream Park & Casino, home of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, 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 also a leading producer of social media content for the horseracing industry.