Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

LEADING JOCKEY RISPOLI WILL MISS TIME AFTER BEING INJURED
WORKS: TOP 3YO’S DRILL FOR BAFFERT; OM N JOY BACK ON TAB
$327K IN TOTAL CARRYOVER MONEY UP FOR GRABS SUNDAY
GRADE II SAN PASQUAL, GIII MEGAHERTZ NEXT WEEK’S FEATURES
LEADING JOCKEY RISPOLI WILL MISS TIME AFTER BEING INJURED

Santa Anita’s leading jockey Umberto Rispoli will be out of action for some time after being injured at Gulfstream Park Saturday during its Pegasus World Cup program.

Rispoli was hurt in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint when his mount, Santa Anita-based Unconquerable Keen, appeared to clip heels near the sixteenth pole. Rispoli was thrown to the ground and carried off the track in a stretcher. He was then sent to a local hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured ankle, tibia and fibula, according to his agent, Matt Nakatani.

“He will be undergoing surgery as soon as possible under doctors’ recommendation,” Nakatani wrote on social media. “As soon as we have a timetable for return, we will provide more information.”

Unconquerable Keen was reportedly not injured in the incident.

Nakatani caught a flight from Los Angeles to South Florida Saturday evening to be with Rispoli, the agent said in a text message after he touched down. On Sunday morning, Nakatani was not immediately available for a further update.

Rispoli, a 37-year-old native of Italy, is the leading rider at the Santa Anita Classic Meet. He has won 15 races from 70 mounts (21 percent).

“This isn’t the end of the road for us,” Nakatani said online. “We will be back stronger than ever.”

Rispoli is also coming off his best year since arriving in the U.S. in late 2019. In 2025, Rispoli won his first classic in the U.S. when taking down the Preakness Stakes with Journalism for trainer Michael McCarthy. Then in the summer, Rispoli earned his first U.S. riding title at Del Mar. He finished the year with 129 wins and more than $13.4 million in purse earnings.

Rispoli was named on four mounts Sunday at Santa Anita. That group included Later Than Planned, who is the 7-2 third choice in the featured Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds on the hillside turf course. Later Than Planned will now be ridden by Tiago Pereira. The Baffle goes as the seventh race at 3:35 p.m.

WORKS: TOP 3YO’S DRILL FOR BAFFERT; OM N JOY RETURNS TO TAB

Promising 3-year-olds Desert Gate, Litmus Test, Buetane plus Usha, winner of the GI La Brea on opening day, all worked Sunday for trainer Bob Baffert at Santa Anita. California-bred graded stakes winner Om N Joy also had her first work of the year for trainer Aggie Ordonez.

Desert Gate and Buetane each worked six furlongs. Desert Gate was timed in 1:13.0 and Buetane was clocked in 1:12.80. Desert Gate, a colt by Omaha Beach, has been off since finishing second in the GI American Pharoah on Oct. 4 at Santa Anita. Buetane, a Tiz the Law colt, most recently finished second in the GII San Vicente going seven furlongs on Jan. 10 after a four-plus month layoff.

Litmus Test drew raves from onlookers when working four furlongs in 47.80 seconds. By Nyquist, Litmus Test most recently won the GII Los Alamitos Futurity at 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 13.

Litmus Test and Buetane were both entered Sunday in this Saturday’s GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Usha worked for the third time since her dominant 5 ¼-length victory in the La Brea going seven furlongs Dec. 28. The 4-year-old filly by Tiz the Law worked five furlongs in 1:00.60.

Om N Joy returned to the tab with a four-furlong work in 49.80 seconds. Winner of last year’s GII Torrey Pines at Del Mar, Om N Joy has been off since finishing fourth in the GII Raven Run at Keeneland on Oct. 18. Ordonez earlier this week said Om N Joy was targeting the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile on March 7 for her 4-year-old debut.

Grade I winner Lovesick Blues worked five furlongs in 59.80 seconds for trainer Librado Barocio. Winner of last year’s GI Bing Crosby at Del Mar, Lovesick Blues has been off since finishing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint Nov. 1 at Del Mar. In a text message Sunday morning, Barocio said Lovesick Blue was headed to Saudi Arabia for the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint at six furlongs on Feb. 14.

$327K IN TOTAL CARRYOVER MONEY UP FOR GRABS SUNDAY

It’s a betting bonanza at Santa Anita Park Sunday. For a nine-race card starting at 12:30 p.m. PT, a total of $327,829 in total carryover money will be up for grabs spread across four different wagers: the $2 Pick Six at Santa Anita, $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5, $1 Sunset Pick Six and $1 Super High 5.

Santa Anita’s Pick Six has a carryover of $51,027. The wager kicks off at 2:04 p.m. with the fourth race. Track officials estimate the total Pick Six pool will reach $350,000. To help make informed selections, free past performance for Sunday’s Santa Anita card are available via Daily Racing Form. They can be found at https://promos.drf.com/santaanita25.

The $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5, which incorporates select races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, has a $149,416 carryover. It starts at 1:50 p.m. with the 10th race from Gulfstream. The Coast-to-Coast sequence also includes the 11th race from Gulfstream and the fifth, sixth and seventh races from Santa Anita.

In the Sunset Pick Six, which links the final three races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, there is a three-day carryover of $106,872. It starts at 1:20 p.m. with the ninth race from Gulfstream Park.

The Super High 5 has a $20,154 carryover. It will be offered in the ninth and final race at 4:35 p.m.

Free Daily Racing Form past performances for Sunday’s Sunset Pick Six are available for horseplayers. They can be accessed at https://promos.drf.com/sunset-pick6. Full entries for the Santa Anita card are also available via santaanita.com.

GRADE II SAN PASQUAL, GIII MEGAHERTZ NEXT WEEK’S FEATURES

Next week’s stakes slate at Santa Anita includes the Grade II San Pasqual and GIII San Megahertz, which both go on Saturday. The Las Virgenes Stakes that was originally scheduled for Sunday, has been pushed back a week to Feb. 8 due to the rain-related cancellations early in the meet.

The San Pasqual is for older horses at 1 1/8 miles on dirt. Candidates to run include Cornucopian and Getaway Car for trainer Bob Baffert, Bartholdy for trainer Steve Knapp, Pony Express for trainer John Sadler, Westwood for trainer John Shirreffs Hiding in Honduras, who won the GII Mathis Mile on turf in just his third start on Dec. 28, is also nominated and has been working steadily for trainer Jonathan Thomas.

The Megahertz is for older fillies and mares at one mile on turf. Grade 2 winner Thought Process, off since finishing third in the GI Del Mar Oaks in August, is nominated and has been working steadily for trainer Phil D’Amato. Also nominated for D’Amato is Public Assembly, who finished fifth as the odds-on favorite in the GIII Robert J. Frankel on Jan. 8. Nominated for trainer Richard Baltas is Watchtower, who was beaten just a neck when third in the Robert J. Frankel.

Entries for the San Pasqual, Megahertz and the rest of Saturday’s card will be taken on Monday.

FINISH LINES: Nominations close Sunday for the GII D. Wayne Lukas, GIII Robert B. Lewis, GIII Thunder Road and Sweet Life Stakes, all to be run on Feb. 7…For those with a promising 3-year-old in the barn, note that Triple Crown nominations are due on Monday…Trainers Francisco Rodriguez, Jorge Farias and Jorge Gutierrez all won their first races of the meet Saturday. Rodriguez won the opener with Player B ($7.40) under Juan Hernandez. Farias won the fourth race with Uffda ($8.60), who was ridden by Alfredo Bautista. Gutierrez won the nightcap with Shezmisbehaving ($13), who had Tiago Pereira in the irons…There was only one winning favorite on Saturday’s nine-race card. That came in the fifth race when Inbox, trained by Phil D’Amato, scored under Pereira and paid $3.40….Pereira added another win in the sixth race on Thirsty Trickster ($9) for trainer Jeff Mullins to complete the Saturday hat trick. He is now 10th in the jockey’s standings.

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