Santa Anita reopens legendary downhill turf course
This time we can celebrate when we say Santa Anita Park is going downhill.
That’s because the historic oval will again offer racing on its legendary tilted Camino Real Hillside Turf Course when it opens its 16-day autumn meet on Friday.
Unused since March 2019, when the track was in the midst of a grim series of fatal breakdowns, the downhill 6½-furlong course is one of horse racing’s most spectacular dueling grounds. Horses break from the gate at the top of the hill, then make a right-hand bend as they descend before making a sweeping turn to the left to cross the main track and join the turf course proper at the top of the stretch.
Fans won’t have to wait long to see the staircase course in action. The Grade II, $200,000 Eddie D Stakes, named for the great jockey Eddie Delahoussaye, is one of four stakes races featured on the opening day card. Trainer Steve Asmussen’s Midwest invader Snapper Sinclair and Phil D’Amato’s Gregorian Chant head what looks to be a deep field of nine runners.
The other three all are “Win and You’re in” races for the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar: the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes, a turf sprint for 2-year-olds; the $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes (Grade 1) for 2-year-olds at 1-1/16th mile on the main track; and the $200,000 Chandelier Stakes (Grade 2) for juvenile fillies at the same distance.
Saturday’s card is even better, with five stakes, including three “Win and You’re In” races: the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes (Grade 1) at 1⅛th miles for 3-year-olds and up; the $30,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes (Grade 1) for fillies and mares at 1¼ miles on the turf; and the $200,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (Grade 2) at 6 furlongs on the main.
Sunday’s $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes (Grade 2), a 1-1/16th-mile affair for fillies and mares, is the final Breeders’ Cup prep that will pay the winner’s way to the Big Dance, now just five weeks away.
Belmont Park and Longchamp racecourse in Paris also are hosting “Win and You’re In” races this weekend.
The former is hosting the $500,000 Champagne Stakes (Grade 1) for 2-year-olds on Saturday and the $400,000 Frizette Stakes (Grade 1) for juvenile fillies on Sunday.
Longchamp has a turf five-pack on Sunday: The Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp; the Prix de l’Opera; the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe; the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere; and the Prix Marcelle Boussac, all Group 1 races. Better set an alarm if you plan to watch or wager. TV coverage on Fox Sports 2 begins at 5:15 a.m. and maybe even earlier on TVG.
Arlington Park’s demise
Sadly the rumors about the sale of Arlington Park outside Chicago to a group with no plans to continue racing proved accurate. Owner Churchill Downs Inc. announced Wednesday that the NFL’s Chicago Bears are buying the 326-acre property for $197.2 million.
There’s still a slim chance racing could continue at the track if the Bears can’t arrange financing for a new stadium or instead reach a deal with the City of Chicago to renovate Soldier Field, but it’s a big long shot.
Lighting up the Tote
Speaking of long shots, you may have seen Hollywood Event, trained by Juan Vazquez and ridden by Ricardo Santana Jr., win the $300,000 Turf Monster Stakes at Parx Racing on Saturday at odds of better than 108-1, triggering payouts of $219.20 on a $2 bet to win, $55.40 to place and $19 to show.
That got me wondering what the longest-priced winner of all time paid. It appears that the filly Wishing Ring owns that honor for parimutuel wagering in North America, with a return of $1,185.50 on a $2 win bet on June 17, 1912, at Latonia racetrack in Covington, Kentucky.
A mere $22 was wagered on the filly that day, with $8 going to win, $4 to place and $10 to show, according to colinsghost.org, a website devoted to thoroughbred racing history.
Mike Brunker’s horse racing column appears Fridays. He can be reached at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.
Ellis Starr's SA Sprint Championship Stakes analysis
Vertical Threat is a perfect four for five in dirt sprints. Three of those wins came at the 6-furlong distance of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. The fastest of those came last November, when leading from start to finish to draw off by seven and one-half lengths in the Steel Valley Sprint, earning a career-best 118 Equibase Speed Figure, on par with the 117 figure C Z Rocket earned winning this race last year. Although this field is composed of some top sprinters, none has the early speed of Vertical Threat, which he not only used to win the Steel Valley Sprint but also most recently when winning the Russell Road Stakes. Leading from start to finish on fast fractions for the track at Charles Town, Vertical Threat still pulled away late to win by three and one-half lengths. Cutting back from 7 furlongs to the 6 furlong trip he dearly loves, and making his third start after returning from an eight month layoff, I have little doubt jockey Abel Cedillo is going to put Vertical Threat on the lead and play "come catch me" with the field. Considering those tactics were successful in the colt's last two wins and considering the 118 figure earned in one of them is good enough to win in this field, Vertical Threat may be very tough to beat in this situation.
C Z Rocket was claimed for $40,000 in April of 2020, compared to the more than $1 million he's earned since then winning seven of 10 races. He won the 2020 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar with a 110 figure before a career-best 117 figure in last year's Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Not disgraced one bit following that when second in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint, C Z Rocket returned in March to win the Hot Springs Stakes (111 figure) and the Count Fleet Stakes (114 figure) and has run well in three races since, all graded stakes, without winning. It's possible the 7-year-old has lost a step but considering he's on the same pattern as before winning last year's edition of this race by cutting back from 7 furlongs to 6, he must be respected as a contender.
Flagstaff won the Commonwealth Stakes at 7 furlongs in April and the Churchill Downs Stakes in May, then cut back to 6 1/2 furlongs and ran in to a buzzsaw in Firenze Fire when second in the True North Stakes with a 110 figure in June. Rested nearly three months while pointing to this race, Flagstaff was only a head behind C Z Rocket in the Pat O'Brien and so is on the same pattern he was last year when second in the Pat O'Brien behind C Z Rocket before losing by a head to the same horse in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. That effort tied a career-best 117 figure earned when beaten a neck in the Palos Verdes Stakes in January 2020 at this 6-furlong trip. Cutting back a furlong while making his second start off a layoff just as he did when almost winning this race last year, Flagstaff has a strong chance to add to his seven for 21 record on dirt and $1 million in career earnings.
The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures: Collusion Illusion (114); Colt Fiction (110); and Dr. Schivel (109).
Ellis Starr is the national racing analyst for Equibase. Visit the Equibase website for more on the race or to purchase handicapping products.
