Favorite Artislas takes them all the way in the Lure Stakes going one mile on turf Saturday at Santa Anita Park

FAVORITE ARTISLAS TAKES THEM ALL THE WAY IN THE LURE STAKES GOING ONE MILE ON TURF SATURDAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK

ARCADIA, CA (Oct. 17, 2026)—Artislas went to the lead under Juan Hernandez and was never headed on his way to a front-running victory as the 3-2 favorite in the $80,000 Lure Stakes going one mile on turf at Santa Anita Park.

Trained by Jeff Mullins, Artislas was able to set comfortable fractions of 23.62, 48.24 and 1:11.81 for six furlongs before holding off a mild challenge from 5-2 second choice Astronomer to win by comfortably by 1 ¼ lengths in a time of 1:34.30. It was another 1 ½ lengths back to Twirling Point (9-1) in third.

Artislas displayed a new dimension by going to the lead. The front-running tactics employed came in a race largely devoid of any true speed horses. Most expected the pacesetter to be Nesso’s Lastharrah (5-2), who was coming out of a series of sprint races and had the inside post. But a slight hop leaving the gate by Nesso’s Lastharrah left the door open for Artislas to seize control early.

“I was expecting to be close. Jeff told me (Nesso’s Lastharrah) was the only horse with any speed, so he told me to be close,” Hernandez said. “Something happened in the gate, the one kind of missed the break, and I broke on top. So I just said I’ll let my horse go to the lead and take it from there. He was traveling really well. The pace was really good for him. He was enjoying himself and finished pretty strongly.”

For Artislas, a 4-year-old colt by Catalina Cruiser, this was his first win since December 2024 when he scored in the Eddie Logan Stakes at one mile on turf at Santa Anita. He improved to 13: 4-0-5 with $285,000 in earnings for owners Dutch Girl Holdings, Irving Ventures, William Meathe, Jeanne Tumanjan.

“I think everyone was worried about (Nesso’s Lasthurrah) making the lead and I told Juan, ‘Leave there with intentions on taking the lead because you know that horse has stumbled before and reared at the start. So if he messes up today, you know you got the lead and no one has got the ‘close’ to get you.’ That’s how it worked out.”

In his previous race on Aug. 22, Artislas finished sixth in the GII Del Mar Mile.

“The thing about this horse is you have to give him time between races,” Mullins said. “He’s kind of a narrow-made horse and you just have to kind of baby him along, train him like a filly, and put him in the right spots.”

Artislas paid $5.00, $3.20 and $2.20. Astronomer, ridden by Joel Rosario and trained by Simon Callaghan, returned $4.20 and $2.60. Twirling Point paid $2.60.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m. PT.

JOCKEY QUOTES

JUAN HERNANDEZ, ARTISLAS, WINNER: “I was expecting to be close. Jeff told me the one (Nesso’s Lastharrah) was the only horse with any speed, so he told me to be close and ride him with confidence. Something happened in the gate, the one kind of missed the break, and I broke on top. So I just said I’ll let my horse go to the lead and take it from there. He was traveling really well. The pace was really good for him. He was enjoying himself and finished pretty strongly. “I asked him on the turn and he jumped right away. I said OK, I have a lot of horse and just turned him loose and that was it.”

TRAINER QUOTES

JEFF MULLINS, ARTISLAS, WINNER: “I think everyone was worried about the one (Nesso’s Lasthurrah) making the lead and I told Juan, ‘Leave there with intentions on taking the lead because you know that horse has stumbled before and reared at the start so, if he messes up today you know you got the lead and no one has got the ‘close’ to get you.’ So that’s how it worked out. “The thing about this horse is you have to give him time between races. He’s kind of a narrow-made horse and you just have to kind of baby him along, train him like a filly, and put him in the right spots.”

NOTES: The winning owners are Dutch Girl Holdings LLC, Irving Ventures LLC, William Meathe, and Jeanne Tumanjan.