Santa Anita

California Crown Stakes

presented by SirDavis American Whisky (Grade 1)

IT was 21 years ago that the commentator ended his call in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with the cry “Man, oh Man-della” as Pleasantly Perfect came past Medaglia d’Oro to seal a day of days for trainer Richard Mandella.

By that finale in 2003, Mandella had won the two Grade 1 juvenile races and seen his outsider Johar almost defy High Chapparal his second Breeders’ Cup win – doing enough to head Falbrav and share the spoils with the O’Brien colt.

Neither Pleasantly Perfect nor Johar were to the head of the betting.

It’s likely Subsanador won’t be in the top three for support in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic but could Mandella pull another from the hat and scupper City Of Troy and the higher profile US three-year-olds next month?

Bob Baffert looked to hold the aces at Santa Anita with three-year-old Muth and four-year-olds National Treasure and Newgate with Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Muth going off favourite over Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and Pegasus World Cup winner National Treasure. Subsanador was the third choice.

National Treasure led, setting the early fractions to a quarter mile in 22.89secs. Mike Smith and Subsanador stalked National Treasure on the inside before taking him outside of National Treasure in the straight.

Baffert’s third runner Newgate closed ground from the outside, with the three horses hitting the line together and it took a photo to show Subsanador, in the centre, the winner. He stopped the timer in 1m48.68secs.

Mandella said: “I didn’t know how he’d react, and I was very proud that he kept trying. I can’t give Mike enough credit for the way he rode him.”

Mike Smith is always one for a good quote and he added: “I knew National Treasure would be the speed and Muth was outside, so I had to lay back. I’ve got to give Richard Mandella all the credit. He’s got this horse so confident, he thinks he owns the place.”

It was the biggest win on the US scene to date for Wathnan Racing. Subsanador competed in his native Argentina in 2022 and 2023, winning five blacktype stakes there. Mandella has trained five-year-old for three starts, beginning with the horse’s fourth in the Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup in May before winning the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park in August.

Favourites

The Grade 2 California Crown Eddie D Stakes over six and a half furlongs on the turf and the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile Stakes presented by MyRacehorse both went to the favourites.

The evergreen Mike Smith made it a graded race double in winning the Eddie D Stakes on First Peace for trainer Mike Glatt.

At the top of the stretch, First Peace was caught on the inside behind the tiring leaders but Smith guided his mount up the rail and through for a length and a half win.

“Mike put a perfect ride on him,” said winning trainer Glatt said. “That’s why they call him ‘Big Money Mike’.”

Johannes and Umberto Rispoli won the mile Grade 2 City of Hope Mile Stakes by a length and a quarter but had to survive a stewards’ inquiry for bumping against the second Almendares.

The Nyquist colt now is four-from-four this year for trainer Tim Yakteen. He has won seven of 11 starts and all four starts at a mile on the turf and should be competitive in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

The other graded contests on the card included the Grade 2 California Crown John Henry Turf Championship Stakes over a mile and two. It went to an outsider in the George Papaprodromou-trained Cabo Spirit who beat There Goes Harvard and Master Piece by a length and a head.

The first edition of this opening meeting for Santa Anita’s winter season under the ‘California Crown’ branding proved hugely popular.

The races are major preps for the Breeders’ Cup, and entertainers including Cher, celebrity chefs, and skydivers charmed the 21,812 at the track.

Belmont At The Big A

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (Grade 1)

AQUEDUCT was again hit by bad weather and its three graded races all suffered from late withdrawals.

The Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes over the turf mile and a half was the feature and Godolphin and Charlie Appleby supplied the favourite in Silver Knott, seeking a US Grade 1 after three Grade 2 wins in the US this season.

The son of Lope De Vega led into the straight but Far Bridge, rejuvenated on his latest runs, came with a sustained late run.

Far Bridge had won the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes by making the running but here Get Smokin led early while Joel Rosario kept Far Bridge in fourth.

As Get Smokin faltered, Silver Knott cruised to the front and led by over two lengths with a quarter-mile left. But as he tired in the stretch, he was challenged by War Like Goddess from the outside and Far Bridge as Joel Rosario sent him through on the rail. He won by half a length with Silver Knott a further four and a quarter back in third.

Trainer Christophe Clement praised his four-year-old English Channel colt: “He’s a top-class horse, and he’s always been a top-class horse for us. I’m lucky to have him. It’s not easy to win the Sword Dancer and he was third in the Manhattan. So, it’s not like he’s run bad races.”

In control

The nine-furlong Grade 2 Woodward Stakes, reduced to four runners, was run on a very wet track. The favourite Skippylongstocking looked to have things in control, well clear half-way up the stretch but Tapit Trice and Dylan Davis kept up the chase and closed rapidly in the final furlong to get on top by three quarters of a length.

Todd Pletcher’s grey had been among the top three-year-olds last season and the win brought the Tapit colt’s prize money earnings to $1.7 million.

“Once he was able to get through and I switched him to the outside, he really started thriving,” jockey Davis said.

With no dominant horses on the US dirt scene, he is another likely bound for a big field in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. “We’ve always felt he was a Classic-type horse, so I’ll talk to the Whisper Hill team about it,” Todd Pletcher said of his four-year-old.

Also on the card, the Grade 3 Vosburgh Stakes, a ‘Win And You Are In’ for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, went to the favourite Mufasa for jockey Irad Ortiz and trainer Ignacio Correas. The Chilean-bred son of Practical Joke won by over four lengths from Scotland in the seven-furlong contest.

CITY Of Troy will have one less significant rival to contend with in the Breeders’ Cup with the announcement last weekend that Dornoch, a leading three-year-old colt with impressive Grade 1 wins in the Belmont Stakes and Haskell Stakes, has been diagnosed with bone bruising, which will force him to miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Dornoch has been retired from racing and will begin his stud career at Spendthrift Farm next year.

“Dornoch owes us nothing. He’s the best horse I’ve ever trained, and our team is going to miss having him around the barn. But we are also excited about his future. He’s going to a great place in Spendthrift, and I think Dornoch has a big chance to be a good sire,” his trainer Danny Gargan said.

The son of Good Magic retires with career earnings of $2,427,275.