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Santa Anita Stable Notes Thursday, April 4, 2024
4/4/2024
STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2024
• GI SANTA ANITA DERBY: TAPALO RETURNS TO DIRT FOR SADLER • COMPETITIVE CARDS KICK OFF 4-DAY DERBY WEEK • DERBY DAY: 5 STAKES, INFIELD CARNIVAL, BEER FESTIVAL AND MORE
GI SANTA ANITA DERBY: TAPALO RETURNS TO DIRT FOR SADLER Tapalo is a colt on the rise entering Saturday’s 87th running of the GI, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby.
Trained by John Sadler, Tapalo exits a good second-place effort in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 10 at Golden Gate when facing winners for the first time. While that race was on synthetic, the Tapiture ridgling has also shown an affinity for Santa Anita’s dirt main track.
Tapalo broke his maiden on Santa Anita dirt going seven furlongs in mid-January. Six weeks prior, in a one-mile maiden heat at Santa Anita, Tapalo finished third in a three-way photo that included Imagination, the 8-5 Santa Anita Derby favorite.
“Then Imagination came back and was in a photo with Maymun,” Sadler noted Sunday. Maymun, who like Imagination is trained by Bob Baffert, was not entered in the Santa Anita Derby. He would have been a likely heavy favorite.
“So just based on that, he’s been competitive against some good horses,” Sadler added. “He’s been close. He’s been close in all his races.”
Tapalo is installed as the 5-1 co-third choice in the Santa Anita Derby, which is contested at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the El Camino Real Derby. Sadler said the decision to ship north for the El Camino Real and run on synthetic was due to multiple factors.
“We wanted to miss some of the front-line horses here. At that point he seemed like he needed a little easier spot,” Sadler said. “He had trained well on synthetic when in Ocala for the sale last year, so I thought he would handle it. That race came up at a time when he was good and sharp. So we took him up there and he ran really well.”
After finishing 1 ¼ lengths back of winner Endlessly in the El Camino Real, the plan was to stay on synthetic and run in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park March 23. That plan was scrapped when the field was oversubscribed and Tapalo did not get in. Endlessly would proceed to romp as the favorite in the Jeff Ruby by four lengths.
Owned by Hronis Racing, Tapalo has returned with a string of strong works. On Monday, he signaled his readiness with a bullet five-furlong work in 58.40 seconds on Santa Anita’s new synthetic training track. Prior to that drill, he also worked a bullet on the Santa Anita main track when going six furlongs 1:12.40.
“The dirt is a not a concern,” Sadler said. “He’s come back and is training really well.”
Sadler, 67, has the second-most wins all time at Santa Anita behind only Baffert. He has won the Santa Anita Derby twice in his long and distinguished career. Sidney’s Candy won in 2010 and Rock Your World scored for Sadler and Hronis Racing in 2021. Both would go on to the Kentucky Derby and finish off the board.
A top-two finish in the Santa Anita Derby could propel Tapalo to the 150th Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs. As an official prep for the Kentucky Derby, the Santa Anita Derby awards qualifying points on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10 to eligible horses in the top five.
“I’m not thinking about that,” Sadler said of a potential run in the Kentucky Derby. “The focus is on Saturday.” Tapalo will have Umberto Rispoli in the irons for the first time. Rispoli piloted Rock Your World to his Santa Anita Derby victory.
The Santa Anita Derby goes as the 10th race on a 12-race card Saturday. Post time is approximately 4:45 p.m. PT. The field in post position order: Curlin’s Kaos, Diego Herrera (20-1); Tapalo, Umberto Rispoli (5-1); Stronghold, Antonio Fresu (5-2); Imagination, Frankie Dettori (8-5); Wynstock, Juan Hernandez (8-1); Tessuto, Kazushi Kimura (10-1); McVay, Hector Berrios (5-1); E J Won the Cup, Mike Smith (15-1).
COMPETITIVE CARDS KICK OFF 4-DAY SANTA ANITA DERBY WEEK Beginning Thursday, Santa Anita has two excellent cards to kick off Grade I Santa Anita Derby week.
On a nine-race card Thursday, 72 horses are entered. The four dirt races average 8.0 starters per race before scratches and the five turf races average 9.4 starters per race.
Thursday’s card also includes a pair of competitive graded stakes. The GIII Wilshire at a mile on turf, which goes as the seventh race at 4:10 p.m. PT, has 10 entered led by lukewarm 3-1 favorite Stay and Scam. The GIII American, which closes out the card at 5:10 p.m., also has 10 entered led by 5-2 favorite Gold Phoenix.
A nine-race card is set for Friday with first post at 1 p.m. PT. The five turf races again average 9.4 starters per race. Additionally, 42 horses are entered in four dirt races, an average of 10.5 starters per race. On both Thursday and Friday, on-track fans will receive free parking and admission plus $3 beers and $5 margaritas. Admission gates open at 10 a.m.
DERBY DAY: 5 STAKES, INFIELD CARNIVAL, BEER FESTIVAL AND MORE The 87th running of the Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on Saturday will offer fans of all ages world class racing and much more, beginning with the track’s annual Derby Day 5k Run & Walk at 8 a.m. PT. Admission gates will open at 10 a.m. with first post for a 12-race card at 12 noon.
The 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby is one of five stakes set for a blockbuster program. Post time for the Santa Anita Derby, which goes as race 10, is approximately 4:45 p.m. PT The race will air live on CNBC and streamed on Peacock with coverage beginning at 4 p.m.
Supporting stakes Saturday include the GII, $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16 miles and the GIII, $100,000 Monrovia Stakes for older fillies and mares on the hillside turf course. Two stakes for California-breds are also on tap, the $125,000 Echo Eddie for 3-year-olds and $125,000 Evening Jewel presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance for 3-year-old fillies. The Echo Eddie and Evening Jewel are both six and a half furlongs on dirt.
A new multi-track wager will also be offered on Derby Day this year, the Big 3 Pick 3, which ties together the day's three Kentucky Derby preps. The $3 minimum wager tasks bettors with selecting the winners of the Santa Anita Derby, GII Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and GII Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. The wager begins at 1:07 p.m. PT with the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.
On-track fans at Santa Anita will also be treated to the Infield Spring Carnival on Saturday, which is easily accessed by entering Gate 6 off of Colorado Place on Santa Anita’s northern perimeter. The Spring Carnival includes pony rides, a Ferris Wheel, inflatable jumpers and much more.
The trackside apron will also host a Beer Festival where fans can enjoy cold craft brews and ciders while cheering on Santa Anita's Kentucky Derby hopefuls. Also, food trucks will be stationed around Kingsbury Fountain to compliment a stacked card on one of Santa Anita's biggest days of the year.
FINISH LINES: Jockey Santiago Gonzalez, who was unseated from his mount in last Friday’s first race, is off both of his scheduled rides Thursday. In the first race, Jose Elias Rodriguez takes over aboard Motet (15-1) for trainer Ruben Gomez. In the second, Gonzalez will be replaced by Tiago Perreira aboard Soul Sweet (4-1) for trainer Rickey Agarie…1/ST Racing is seeding Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 with an additional $100,000…Sunday is the final day of the Classic Meet. There will be mandatory payouts of all pools with a carryover provision including the $1 Pick 6…After a one-week break, live racing will resume April 19 with the start of the Hollywood Meet, which runs through June 16…Santa Anita simulcast host and analyst Michell Yu will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Friday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:50 a.m. PT.