SANTA ANITA STABLE NOTES

By Ed Golden —-

• ESPINOZA IS BACK AND IN CHAMPIONSHIP MODE
• FASIG-TIPTON SALE WEDNESDAY AT SANTA ANITA

ESPINOZA IN SEARCH OF HIS NEXT CHAMPION

The fairytale saga that is Victor Espinoza’s moves ever forward, chapter by chapter.

His riding career in serious jeopardy following a training accident at Del Mar last July,
the 47-year-old Triple Crown winner and Hall of Fame member remains his ever-affable self after a recovery just short of miraculous, back riding winners like nothing ever happened.

But it did.

“I’m doing well right now and things are moving along quite nicely,” said Espinoza,
whose 13 victories from 49 mounts—a lofty 27 percent—place him firmly among the top 10 riders at the spring portion of Santa Anita’s current meet.

“I’m trying to win as many races as I can and looking forward to my next champion. I hope by riding every day I can reach that goal.”

Should he achieve it, Espinoza would add to a resume that includes a Triple Crown sweep with Horse of the Year American Pharoah in 2015 and a near-sweep with two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, who finished in a dead-heat for fourth in the 2014 Belmont Stakes after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Following his arduous recovery, Espinoza had to prove himself riding-worthy all over again to fans and horsemen alike.

“That was understandable after such a serious accident,” Espinoza said. “Everyone was waiting to see how I would do, but now things have returned to normal. Owners and trainers have confidence in me and are working with me like they did before.

“I’m riding as many races as possible, trying to win every one.”

On Saturday, Espinoza returns to the scene of his greatest triumph, Belmont Park, where he captured the Triple Crown on American Pharoah. He rides promising maiden winner Ce Ce (pronounced see see) for trainer Michael McCarthy in the Grade I, $700,000 Acorn Stakes at a one-turn mile.

“Victor worked her the other morning, a nice, solid move in a minute and three-fifths,” said McCarthy, who conditions the daughter of Quality Road for owner/breeder Bo Hirsch.

“To see where Victor is today from 10 months ago is inspiring. What happened then was frightening, and for him to dig down and make a major commitment to getting fit not only physically but mentally, and coming back, was extremely courageous.”

FASIG-TIPTON 2-YEAR-OLD SALE AT SANTA ANITA THIS WEDNESDAY

Santa Anita’s first ever Fasig-Tipton Two-Year-Old in training sale takes place this Wednesday, June 5, at 1 p.m. in Santa Anita’s Seabiscuit Walking Ring.

The Under-tack Preview will take place tomorrow, beginning at 10 a.m. on the main track. The Preview is open to the public and all breezes will be videotaped, courtesy of XBTV and available up to and through the sale, on track and on demand, at fasigtipton.com.

For additional information, visit fasigtipton.com or call 626 574-RACE.

SANTA ANITA HOSTS JOCKEY BENEFIT JUNE 22

On June 22, a once a year fundraising event known as Jockeys and Jeans will be held at Santa Anita for the first time.
Started by retired riders for the benefit of their peers who have experienced catastrophic injuries, it will be the sixth annual event which to date has raised more than $1 million for fallen riders, with all proceeds benefitting the Permanent Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF).
The event schedule at Santa Anita: autograph signing from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. near the Paddock starting gate; Silent Auction available to all on-track fans, 11 a.m. throughout the day near the Paddock Starting Gate; and a Chandelier Room Party starting at 12 noon.
Cost to enter is $65. Cost for a guaranteed seat is $100, while a premium ticket guaranteeing seating, morning barn tour and a signed Justify pennant are $200. Tickets include buffet lunch from 12 to 3 p.m., racing program, wagering tip sheet, specialty silent and live auction items, ceremonial festivities, and more.
Those unable to attend may make a donation to the PDJF of $25 via santaanaita.com.

LATEST CONTENT FROM XBTV:

McKinzie (Outside) in company with Inshannity worked 4 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Baffert)

Guiliana worked 4 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Powell)

Kanthaka worked 4 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Hollendorfer)

Caribou Club worked 6 furlongs. 6-2-19 (Proctor)

Peter Eurton & Leonard Powell Discuss: Beloved Veterans, Ashleyluvssugar & Soi Phet

A Day in the Life: Santa Anita Park’s Bugler Jay Cohen Part 2

Weekend Watch: Highlighting weekend action at Santa Anita Park starting on June 1st, 2019

Rijeka worked 3 furlongs. 5-29-19 (Baltas)

Dr. Dorr (outside) and Victory Element worked 4 furlongs. 5-29-19 (Baffert)

Once on Whiskey (outside) and Hot Sean worked 5 furlongs. 5-29-19 (Baffert)

Mika the Mistress worked 4 furlongs. 5-29-19 (Metz)
Lippy worked 5 furlongs. 5-31-19 (O’Neill)

Ce Ce (Inside) worked 5 furlongs. 5-31-19 (McCarthy)

All Good (Outside) and Reedley worked 5 furlongs. 5-31-19 (Baffert)
Pavel works 6 furlongs in preparation for Belmont Park’s Met Mile. 6-1-19 (O’Neill)

Nolo Contesto in company with Flagstaff work 5 furlongs. 6-1-19 (Sadler)

Executive Cat (outside) works 4 furlongs 6-1-19 (Glatt)

Campaign works 6 furlongs. 6-1-19 (Sadler)

FINISH LINES: Leading rider Flavien Prat will be in the Blue Grass State Saturday to receive a trophy for winning the Kentucky Derby. Prat also would ride Affirmed Stakes winner Draft Pick that day for Peter Eurton in the Grade II Stephen Foster if the connections decide on running The Grade II, $600,000 Stephen Foster is a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Race providing the winner a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 2 . . . Joe Talamo won two races Saturday to close within seven of Prat, 24-17, with 10 racing days remaining in the spring portion of Santa Anita’s meet. Doug O’Neill holds a 19-15 advantage over Richard Baltas among trainers, but with the triumph by Lady Prancealot in the Honeymoon Stakes, Baltas leads in stakes wins with four, one more than Phil D’Amato . . . Favorites this meet are winning at a 34.12 percent clip (72 of 211) but more frequently on dirt than turf, 38.33 percent (46 of 120) to 28.57 percent (26 of 91), according to figures from stat guru Jason Hom . . . Omaha Beach, the pre-race favorite for the Kentucky Derby who missed the classic due to an entrapped epiglottis, remains at WinStar Farm in Lexington recovering from the surgery. “He’s progressing slowly, there’s a plane each week for California, and when he’s good enough, we’ll bring him back,” trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday morning. “He’s not quite good enough yet, but when he comes back here, he should be ready to train.” . . . Trainer John Sadler has Santa Anita Handicap winner Gift Box ticketed for the Grade I TVG Pacific Classic on Aug. 17, with the San Diego Handicap July 20 as a possible steppingstone. “He came out of the Gold Cup (at Santa Anita May 27) in good shape, no problems,” Sadler said . . . Prepping for the Met Mile at Belmont Park this Saturday, multiple Grade I winner McKinzie worked four furlongs in company this morning under Drayden Van Dyke in 47.60 for Bob Baffert. Stablemate Inshannity was clocked in 48.20 . . . Santa Anita is dark for live racing this Monday through Thursday. Live action resumes 1 p.m. Friday, June 7. Simulcast racing is offered Thursday with free General Admission and free parking. Admission gates open at 10 a.m. . . . On an overcast Sunday morning, Paddy Gallagher was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed savoring yesterday’s sweet victory by German-bred La Force over 1-5 favorite Paradise Woods in the Santa Maria Stakes. Paradise Woods had conquered La Force by 10 ½ lengths in the Santa Margarita April 27, but the Gallagher trainee won her first stakes yesterday in her 25th start. The six-year-old mare had finished second eight times, three times in Grade I races. “My cup of tea didn’t need any sugar this morning,” the trainer said.

SANTA ANITA STATISTICS
(Current from April 12 through Saturday, June 1)
Jockey Mts 1st 2nd 3rd Win% ITM% Money Won

Flavien Prat 96 24 21 17 25% 65% $1,761,114
Joseph Talamo 89 17 13 11 19% 46% $944,886
Rafael Bejarano 99 16 19 18 16% 54% $933,514
Tiago Pereira 99 15 7 14 15% 36% $779,321
Ruben Fuentes 91 14 16 14 15% 48% $608,597
Victor Espinoza 49 13 5 7 27% 51% $778,129
Drayden Van Dyke 77 12 12 13 16% 48% $1,062,600
Edwin Maldonado 58 12 7 8 21% 47% $442,014
Kent Desormeaux 50 12 5 7 24% 48% $563,763
Aaron Gryder 68 9 11 6 13% 38% $468,284
Martin Garcia 50 8 11 10 16% 58% $520,774
Mario Gutierrez 54 7 12 7 13% 48% $472,261
Geovanni Franco 74 7 9 10 9% 35% $469,345
Jorge Velez 42 5 6 7 12% 43% $237,838
Norberto Arroyo, Jr. 28 5 4 4 18% 46% $333,989
Heriberto Figueroa 40 5 2 2 13% 23% $196,128
Martin Pedroza 32 4 5 5 13% 44% $194,688
Agapito Delgadillo 36 4 4 7 11% 42% $189,303

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

Doug O’Neill 75 19 10 17 25% 61% $921,899
Richard Baltas 58 15 10 6 26% 53% $995,723
John Sadler 53 12 7 12 23% 58% $866,041
Philip D’Amato 58 11 9 4 19% 41% $833,800
Mark Glatt 55 10 11 4 18% 45% $560,620
Jerry Hollendorfer 43 8 10 4 19% 51% $744,776
Bob Baffert 26 6 7 5 23% 69% $443,033
Andrew Lerner 11 6 0 0 55% 55% $156,722
Vladimir Cerin 38 5 9 5 13% 50% $269,690
Steve Knapp 26 5 5 5 19% 58% $192,736
J. Keith Desormeaux 25 5 3 5 20% 52% $203,954
Richard Mandella 22 5 2 4 23% 50% $248,162
Peter Miller 33 4 4 3 12% 33% $212,234
John Shirreffs 19 4 4 2 21% 53% $347,722
J. Eric Kruljac 23 4 3 4 17% 48% $220,519
Tim Yakteen 15 4 1 2 27% 47% $164,066
George Papaprodromou 20 4 1 2 20% 35% $110,424
Alfredo Marquez 9 4 1 1 44% 67% $103,260

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 (TSG) is a world-class entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred horse racing at the core. The company’s mission is executed through the distinct but interconnected pillars of Racing and Gaming, Entertainment, Technology and Real Estate Development. TSG is dedicated to delivering the best in class Thoroughbred horse racing content and operations. The company holds some of the greatest brands in the industry including, Southern California’s Santa Anita Park, “The Great Race Place”; South Florida’s Gulfstream Park, home to the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series and retail destination, The Village at Gulfstream Park; Pimlico Race Course, home of the legendary Preakness Stakes, Laurel Park and Rosecroft Raceway in Maryland; Oregon’s Portland Meadows; and the San Francisco Bay Area’s, Golden Gate Fields. TSG is a leader in digital and mobile wagering technology through its subsidiaries AmTote and Xpressbet and is a major distributor of horse racing content to a global audience through Monarch Content Management. The award winning Adena Springs is the breeding and training facility of The Stronach Group with stables in Kentucky, Florida and Ontario.