Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, March 29, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

GI SANTA ANITA DERBY: INTREPIDO WORKS 4F; ROBUSTA DRILLS 6F
      Intrepido and Robusta, two of the leading contenders in Saturday’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby, each worked Sunday. Intrepido, trained by Jeff Mullins, worked a half mile under jockey Hector Berrios. Robusta, trained by Doug O’Neill, drilled six furlongs with jockey Emisael Jaramillo in the irons.
      Intrepido was officially clocked working four furlongs in 47.60 seconds. That time was quite a bit faster than what trainer Jeff Mullins had on his stopwatch.
     “Way off,” Mullins said. “I had him in 50. A bunch of us up there had him in 50.”
Whatever the case, Intrepido appeared to have cooled out well following the work as he was lounging comfortably in his stall. Now, the colt by Maximus Mischief will try and provide Mullins with his fourth win in the Santa Anita Derby while also securing a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
Robusta was timed going six furlongs in 1:14.2. A homebred for Calumet Farm, the colt by Accelerate most recently served notice when finishing second by just a head at odds of 67-1 in the GII San Felipe going 1 1/16 miles on March 7. The winner of the San Felipe, Potente, is also expected to return in the Santa Anita Derby.
Intrepido is owned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. In his only start this year, Intrepido finished second by three-quarters of a length in the GIII Robert B. Lewis going one mile. The winner of the Lewis, Plutarch, has since been sidelined.
As a 2-year-old, Intrepido won the GI American Pharoah going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. He closed out the campaign by finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after being compromised by a slow start.
Intrepido and Robusta are among a field of seven expected for the Santa Anita Derby. The others are Potente and Cherokee Nation, both trained by Bob Baffert; So Happy for trainer Mark Glatt; Start the Ride for trainer Dan Blacker; and New Mexico shipper Express Kid, who is trained by Justin Evans. Express Kid last month was beaten by just a nose in the Sunland Park Derby when second to Pavlovian. The colt by Bodexpress was an $800,000 auction buy last year.
The post-position draw for the Santa Anita Derby is Monday.

OAKS NOMS WORK, BIG CAP WINNER BRITISH ISLES BACK ON TAB
A trio of fillies nominated to Saturday’s GII Santa Anita Oaks—Cashed, Hypergamy and Nimah—worked Sunday, and British Isles returned to the tab following his win in the GI Santa Anita Handicap.
Cashed and Hypergamy are both trained by Doug O’Neill. Cashed worked four furlongs in 49.8 seconds, while Hypergamy worked five furlongs in 1:02. Cashed, a California-bred daughter of I’ll Have Another, most recently set the pace in last month’s Sunland Park Oaks going one mile before weakening to sixth. She previously was second in the GII Starlet at Los Alamitos and second in the California Cup Oaks on turf at Santa Anita.
Hypergamy, by American Pharoah, has never raced on dirt. She most recently set the pace in the one-mile China Doll Stakes on the lawn before being overtaken by the highly regarded Counterbalance to finish second.
Nimah is trained by Bob Baffert. The daughter of Gun Runner hasn’t started since finishing third in the 1 1/16-mile Starlet in December. That effort followed a debut win going 6 ½ furlongs in November at Del Mar.
British Isles, trained by Richard Baltas, worked four furlongs in 49.2 seconds. A 6-year-old gelding by Justify, British Isles won the 1 ¼ Big Cap by 4 ½ lengths for his first stakes victory.
Also returning to the tab was Take A Breath, who two weeks ago won the GIII Santa Ana for fillies and mares at 1 ¼ miles on turf. The 4-year-old daughter of Bated Breath worked four furlongs on 50.8. Take A Breath, trained by Mark Glatt, is a candidate for the GI Gamely at 1 1/8 miles on turf on March 25.
Also returning to the tab was Sumter, who two weeks ago won the GIII San Simeon for trainer Richard Mandella. Sumter drilled four furlongs on the synthetic training track in 46.0 seconds, which was the fastest of 19 works at the distance.
Other notables on the tab included Greenwich Village (5f, 59.6), Usha (5f, 1:01.2), Vodka Vodka (4f, 48.2), Simply Joking (4f, 48.0) and Dr. Venkman (3f, 39.6), a multiple graded-stakes winner who is on the comeback trail for Glatt.

DERBY DAY SATURDAY HAS 5 STAKES, ARRAY OF ENTERTAINMENT
Santa Anita Derby day this Saturday features five stakes races and an array of other entertainment for on-track fans to enjoy. General admission is $10 if you buy tickets in advance online, or $20 the day of the event. For 1/ST Rewards members, general admission is just $5. A variety of other ticket packages are also available, which can be viewed at santaanita.com.
In addition to the GI Santa Anita Derby, Saturday’s racing program also includes the GII Santa Anita Oaks, GIII Monrovia, and both the Echo Eddie and Evening Jewel for California-breds.
The day’s festivities begin with the Derby Day 5K Run/Walk, which starts at 8 a.m. All participants receive a finisher medal, t-shirt, two post-race beers and official timing.
On-track activities during the racing program include a trackside Craft Beer Festival and Spring Carnival in the Infield.
For more information on Santa Anita Derby day, please visit santaanita.com.

SPECIAL THURSDAY CARD KICKS OFF CLOSING WEEK OF CLASSIC MEET
Next week is the final week of the Santa Anita Classic Meet. There will be four consecutive days of racing starting this Thursday, which is a makeup card for earlier weather-related cancellations, and ending with closing day on Sunday when there will be mandatory payouts in all pari-mutuel pools.
After closing day of the Classic Meet, Santa Anita will take a one-week break before live racing resumes with the start of the Hollywood Meet on Friday, April 17. The Hollywood Meet runs through Sunday, June 14.

FINISH LINES: Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:24 p.m. PT with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park…Sunday’s $1 Sunset Pick Six starts at 1:55 with the ninth race from Gulfstream…Jockey Emisael Jaramillo won two more races Saturday and is now six wins clear of runner-up Juan Hernandez in the race for leading jockey with five days remaining in the meet. Doug O’Neill also won two races Saturday to extend what’s likely an insurmountable lead in the trainer’s race. Entering Sunday, O’Neill had won 35 races at the stand, which is 11 more than runner-up Mark Glatt.

About The Stronach Group and 1/ST

The Stronach Group is a world-class technology, entertainment and real estate development company with Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering at the core. The Stronach Group’s 1/ST business (pronounced “First”) is North America’s preeminent Thoroughbred racing and pari-mutuel wagering company and includes the 1/ST RACING & GAMING, 1/ST CONTENT, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY and 1/ST EXPERIENCE businesses, while advocating for and driving the 1/ST HORSE CARE mission. 1/ST represents The Stronach Group’s continued movement toward redefining Thoroughbred racing and the ecosystem that drives it. 1/ST RACING & GAMING drives the best-in-class racing operations and gaming offerings at the company’s premier racetracks, training centers and premier events including: Santa Anita Park and San Luis Rey Downs (California); Gulfstream Park – home of the Pegasus World Cup and Palm Meadows Thoroughbred Training Center (Florida); Laurel Park, The Preakness Stakes, Rosecroft Raceway and Bowie Training Center (Maryland). 1/ST CONTENT is the operating group for 1/ST’s media and content companies including: Monarch Content Management, Elite, TSG Global Wagering Solutions (GWS) and 1/ST TV. 1/ST TECHNOLOGY is racing’s largest racing and gaming technology company offering world-class products via its AmTote, Xpressbet, 1/ST BET, XB SELECT, XB NET, PariMAX and Betmix brands. 1/ST EXPERIENCE blends the worlds of sports, entertainment and hospitality through innovative content development, elevated national and local venue management and hospitality, strategic partnerships, sponsorships, and procurement development. As the advocate for critical industry reforms and by making meaningful investments into aftercare programs for retired horses and jockeys, 1/ST HORSE CARE represents The Stronach Group’s commitment to achieving the highest level of horse and rider care and safety standards in Thoroughbred racing on and off the track. The Stronach Group’s TSG Properties is responsible for the development of the company’s live, play and work communities surrounding its racing venues including: The Village at Gulfstream Park (Florida) and Paddock Pointe (Maryland). For more information, visit www.1st.com or follow @1ST_racing on Twitter or @1stracing on Instagram and Facebook.