Press Releases

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 29, 2010)—Lookin At Lucky, champion 2-year-old colt of 2009 and the West’s number-one Kentucky Derby hopeful, will run in Saturday’s Gr. I, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby, according to his Hall of Fame trainer, Bob Baffert.

The 3-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Smart Strike, who breezed six furlongs at Santa Anita on Sunday in 1:12 flat, will attempt to become the first 2-year-old champion since the great Affirmed in 1978 to win the Santa Anita Derby.

“We were considering the (Gr. I) Arkansas Derby on April 10 because that would have given us a week more from his last race (a win in the Gr. II, 1 1/16 miles Rebel at Oaklawn Park on March 13), but he worked really good here on Sunday and he’s ready to run,” said Baffert, who has won a record five Santa Anita Derbies, along with three triumphs in the Kentucky Derby.

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 28, 2010) – At 5-1 the longest shot in a field of five, Tanda burst through an opening along the rail under jockey Alex Solis to run away from her better fancied competition Sunday in Santa Anita’s 25th running of the Grade III, $100,000 Santa Paula Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at 6 ½ furlongs.

Tanda’s eye-catching stretch move propelled her to a 4 ¼-length victory over La Nez while her final time of 1:14.36 did away with the former stakes record of 1:14.61 set by Magnificence in 2007. Sister Dawn, the 2-1 favorite, finished a neck behind La Nez.

It was the third victory in five starts for the Florida-bred daughter of Sweetsouthernsaint trained by Dan Hendricks for Tommy Hutton’s Dream Stable, and her first win on a surface other than turf.

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 27, 2010) – Trainer Mike Mitchell, who has enjoyed enormous success converting claimed horses into winners of graded stakes marathons, turned the feat once again on Saturday when 9-1 shot Tap It Light captured Santa Anita’s Grade III, $100,000 Tokyo City Cup at 1 ½ miles before a festive on-track crowd of 12,796.

After tracking early leader Eagle Poise, jockey Tyler Baze sent Tap It Light to the lead rounding the far turn. They safely withstood the late bid of Rendezvous to score by three-quarters-of-a-length in 2:62. Eagle Poise faded to third, another half-length back, in the field of eight.

Tap It Light had won going 1 3/8 miles at Fairplex Park in Sept of 2008 after Mitchell claimed the gelded son of General Meeting at Del Mar one race previous for $40,000 on behalf of Scott Anastasi, Dan Capen and James Ukegawa.

ARCADIA, Calif. (March 26, 2010) – While providing leading trainer John Sadler with his third Santa Anita feature victory in as many days, Distorted Dave just may have run himself into the Kentucky Derby with a 4 ¼-length victory in Friday’s $48,400 allowance event for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles.

“We’re going to try to backdoor our way into the Derby by running in the Coolmore at Keeneland,” Sadler said afterward in reference to the Grade II, $300,000 Coolmore Lexington Stakes on April 17.

Nominated to the Triple Crown races, 4-1 shot Distorted Dave gave evidence of his budding potential on Friday by overhauling the dueling favorites in midstretch and drawing off to win in 1:43.16.