SANTA ANITA DERBY WINNER ROADSTER HEADS SUNDAY’S GRADE III, $100,000 AFFIRMED

By Mike Willman —-

Roadster; BENOIT PHOTO

SANTA ANITA DERBY WINNER ROADSTER, IDLE SINCE KENTUCKY DERBY, HEADS SUNDAY’S GRADE III, $100,000 AFFIRMED STAKES AT 1 1/16 MILES

ARCADIA, Calif. (June 12, 2019)—Bob Baffert holds a powerful three-card hand as his Santa Anita Derby winning Roadster, Mucho Gusto and Kingly loom large among a field of six sophomores in Sunday’s Grade III, $100,000 Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita. Named for Harbor View Farm’s homebred Triple Crown Champion of 1978, the Affirmed will be contested at a mile and one sixteenth.

ROADSTER
Owner: Speedway Stable, LLC
Trainer: Bob Baffert

An authoritative half length winner of the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 6, this Quality Road colt was never a factor over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs, finishing 16th in the Kentucky Derby on May 4. Sidelined due to an entrapped epiglottis following a third place finish as the 3-5 favorite in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity Sept. 3, Roadster came back running three starts back for Baffert on March 1, as he tried two turns for the first time in a 2 ½ length allowance win at a one mile. Although ridden by Florent Geroux in the Run for the Roses, he’ll be reunited with Mike Smith, who had ridden him in his first four starts, in Sunday’s Affirmed. The leading money winner in the field with $706,200, he has three wins from five starts.

MUCHO GUSTO
Owner: Michael Lund Petersen
Trainer: Bob Baffert

Off as the prohibitive 1-2 favorite, this Kentucky-bred colt by Mucho Macho Man annexed his third graded stakes win on May 18, as he cut back in distance off of a disappointing third in the Grade III, 1 1/8 mile Sunland Derby to take the Grade III, seven furlong Lazaro Barrera Stakes here by 3 ¼ lengths. A 4 ¾ length winner of the Grade III Robert B. Lewis Stakes going 1 1/16 miles three starts back on Feb. 2, Mucho Gusto could prove an elusive front-running target under regular rider Joe Talamo.

KINGLY
Owner: Clearview Stables, LLC, RAC O4 Racing, LLC and Michael Meegan Trainer: Bob Baffert

A first out maiden winner going six furlongs at Del Mar on Dec. 1, this son of Tapit comes off a third place finish to Affirmed rival Visitant in the one mile Alcatraz Stakes at Golden Gate Fields on May 19. A half length victor over Visitant two starts back in the 1 1/8 mile California Derby on April 27, Kingly is 5-2-2-1 and will be ridden by Mario Gutierrez for the third consecutive time. With his last three starts coming on synthetic Tapeta at Golden Gate, he’ll return to Santa Anita’s main track for the first time since Jan. 31, when he was third as the 8-5 favorite in a one mile allowance over a sloppy track.

VISITANT
Owner: Williamson Racing, LLC
Trainer: John F. Martin

A winner of three out his four starts, all at Golden Gate, this homebred colt by Ghostzapper rallied from off the pace to win the one mile Alcatraz on May 19 by 1 ¼ lengths, earning an Affirmed-best last-out Beyer Speed figure of 91. With regular rider William Antongeorgi in town to ride, it would appear Visitant will have plenty of pace to run at as he gets a major test for class.

THE GRADE III AFFIRMED STAKES WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4:35 p.m. PT

1. Visitant—William Antongeorgi—122
2. Always Forgiven—Kent Desormeaux—120
3. Manhattan Up—Tiago Pereira—120
4. Kingly—Mario Gutierrez—122
5. Roadster—Mike Smith—124
6. Mucho Gusto—Joe Talamo—124
First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m. For additional information, please visit santaanita.com or call (626) 574-RACE

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.