Pain, puzzlement swirl around Santa Anita amid horse deaths
There’s a quote rattling around in my head that I could have sworn was from the legendary trainer Charlie Wittingham but apparently is not. It goes something like this: “This sport is not for guys in short pants.”
The continued carnage at Santa Anita Park this week reminded me of that quote (I hope someone with a better memory than mine knows who actually uttered it), which refers to the dichotomy inherent in the sport I love above all others.
Horse racing can provide moments of awe and rapture, but it also serves up tragedy that’s hard to take. And lately, the latter has had its thumb on the scale.
Twenty-one horses have died since Dec. 26 while racing or training at the Great Race Place.
It has been an agonizing time for fans, trainers and owners. Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally was the latest to lose a horse when the 4-year-old filly Lets Light the Way was euthanized after shattering a sesamoid bone in her leg during a timed workout on Tuesday.
“I loved that filly,” the 86-year-old conditioner told the BloodHorse. “… I wanted to cry when we had to put her down.”
Track management called in the cavalry this week — in the person of longtime track superintendent Dennis Moore — in an effort to find an answer. In addition to conducting more extensive testing of the racing surface, track management says it “is conducting a comprehensive evaluation of all existing safety measures and current protocols.”
Management also canceled one of the track’s most important weekends of racing, which was to have featured four graded stakes on Saturday, including the San Felipe Stakes, a key prep for the Santa Anita Derby, and the historic Santa Anita Handicap, and one on Sunday.
The cancellation of the San Felipe had California-based trainers with Kentucky Derby aspirations scrambling. Santa Anita has not yet said whether it will reschedule the race and, if so, when.
Trainer Richard Mandella, who had planned to enter recent maiden winner Omaha Beach in the San Felipe, told the Daily Racing Form this week he wasn’t yet sure where he’d end up running his charge.
“I’m as confused as the little boy who lost his bubble gum in the chicken coop,” he said. “I couldn’t imagine this in my wildest dreams.”
One possibility is that numerous horses that had been aimed for the San Felipe will ship to Oaklawn Park for next weekend’s Rebel Stakes. Track officials reportedly are considering running two divisions of that race if there is sufficient interest.
#RJhorseracing featured races
The #RJhorseracing handicappers remained focused on the 3-year-old division via Saturday’s $300,000 Gotham Stakes, a Grade 3 race at Aqueduct run at a mile, and the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby, a Grade 2 in Florida run at 1 1/16th mile.
In the former, the crew is backing even-money morning line favorite Instagrand in his first race as a 3-year-old over fellow California shipper Much Better (10-1) and Haikal (6-1).
Instagrand looks like the one to beat, but as I was reminded last weekend when I backed Hidden Scroll, it’s not a good idea to accept short odds on a horse who is trying something for the first time — in this case running farther than 6 furlongs. I’ll take a shot instead with Not That Brady (5-1), who lost ground on the first turn in his last start, the Withers Stakes, but battled gamely in the stretch. I’ve got Instagrand second and Haikal third.
The handicappers see a more open event in the Tampa Bay Derby, but they’re again backing the 5-2 favorite, Win Win Win, to do just that. They have 7-2 second-favorite Well Defined to place and Outshine (8-1) to show.
“Could be a ‘super horse’ and has the right running style for the Derby,” crowd ’capper Mark “the Godfather” Wayman wrote of the group’s pick.
Freshly burned or not, I was too impressed by Win Win Win’s last race, when he set a track and stakes record in the 7-furlong Pasco Stakes. to pick against him. I’ve got The Right Path (15-1) in second and Well Defined to show.
Mike Brunker’s horse racing column appears Friday. He can be reached at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.
Ellis Starr's Tampa Bay Derby analysis
Win Win Win tries two turns for the first time off a strong win in the Pasco Stakes over the track in January at the distance of 7 furlongs. Neither the additional turn nor the added distance should be an issue for the son of Hat Trick, whose sire was 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence. Showing maturity since rallying from second in the early stages to win in his debut last November, Win Win Win has steadily improved. He won his second career start by more than six lengths with a 99 Equibase Speed Figure then improved to 104 when second in the Helft Stakes at the end of December, before a career-best and field high 113 figure in the Pasco. In the Pasco, Win Win Win pulled the jockey to the lead on the turn as he easily went by three horses and was in front by 2 lengths with an eighth of a mile to go before continuing to extend the margin and win by seven and one-quarter lengths at the wire. Irad Ortiz Jr., last year's Eclipse winning jockey, takes off an entire day at Gulfstream Park to ride Win Win Win for the first time as it is likely he and his agent sense the potential for this colt to go all the way to Louisville.
Well Defined won the Sam F. Davis stakes last month, the local prep race for the Tampa Bay Derby, and did so rather easily by nearly three lengths. As a 2-year-old, Well Defined won the In Reality Stakes for horses bred in Florida and earned a very strong 111 figure at the distance of the Tampa Bay Derby. Following that big win, Well Defined went off form, finishing 12th, then fifth, but as Well Defined returned to top form with a 97 figure effort in the Sam F. Davis, and with possible improvement in his third start following a layoff, he should be respected as a contender to win the race.
Dream Maker won at the short distance of 5 1/2 furlongs in his debut last June then was out of action for three months. When he returned, he was entered in the Hopeful Stakes in New York and could only manage a fifth of eight finish. Trying two turns last fall in the Breeders' Futurity, Dream Maker ended up 12th of 13 in another disappointing effort, this one as the betting favorite. Given four months off to grow up and to get over whatever issues resulted in those two poor efforts, Dream Maker not only returned to the races with aplomb, he did so around two turns without a sprint prep. In that race last month, Dream Maker made a quick move on the turn to go from third to 4 1/2 lengths in front of the next horse by the time the field reached the eighth pole, then was "ridden out" to an 8 1/2 length win. Although the effort earned a 95 figure which is much lower than the 111 Well Defined earned in his best effort and the 113 Win Win Win earned in the Pasco, Dream Maker has potential to take a big step forward, particularly as he was flattered when the runner-up from his last race won and improved by six points.
Ellis Starr is the national racing analyst for Equibase. Visit the Equibase website for more on the race or to purchase handicapping products.
