Santa Anita Stable Notes Friday, Oct. 23, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN FRIDAY, OCT. 23, 2026

• TOKYO CITY CUP: ARROWTHEGREAT STEPS UP AFTER BIG COMEBACK • BREEDERS’ CUP: CALIFORNIA WELL-REPRESENTED IN PRE-ENTRIES • OWNER’S STANDINGS: LOVINGIER UP TO 2nd; HRONIS RACING LEADS __• SUPER CORREDORA, SWEET AZTECA TO WORK BEFORE FRIDAY’S 1st __

TOKYO CITY CUP: ARROWTHEGREAT STEPS UP AFTER BIG COMEBACK

Following an excellent comeback win at Del Mar after more than a year on the sidelines, Arrowthegreat returns to the stakes ranks Saturday for trainer Dan Blacker in the Tokyo City Cup going one mile at Santa Anita.

A 6-year-old gelding by Arrogate, Arrowthegreat beat an accomplished group of older runners on Aug. 30 at Del Mar in a high-level allowance going one mile. It was his first start since winning the Longacres Mile last August at Emerald Downs. In the Tokyo City, Arrowthegreat is installed as the 2-1 second choice on the morning line. The 9-5 favorite is Mr. A.P., who goes for trainer Vladimir Cerin.

“I was confident he was fit and ready, but that was a tough race against good horses,” Blacker said of Arrowthegreat’s comeback. “I was really impressed with how he dug in and got it done against a really tough field.”

The return in the Del Mar allowance was actually Plan B for Arrowthegreat. Blacker had hoped he would be able to come back for a title defense in this year’s edition of the Longacres Mile two weeks earlier on Aug. 16.

“We were prepping for that and just ran out of time,” Blacker said. “I didn’t want to send him all the way up there when I wasn’t confident he was really ready. I knew that Del Mar was going to write an allowance later in the meet, so we would have a little more time to really crank down and get him ready.”

The 2025 Longacres Mile is Arrowthegreat’s only stakes win. He’ll try and add another what is definitively his ideal distance in the Tokyo City Cup. Going a flat mile on the main track, Arrowthegreat sports a sparkling mark of 9: 5-3-1.

“He’s always been a talented horse. Looking back at his form, if you take away all the races that are not at one mile on dirt, he’s got a pretty unbelievable record,” Blacker said. “He’s a big horse that’s bred for distance. I kept thinking he was going to get further, a mile and a quarter, a mile and an eighth. We kept trying, thinking he would break out and be a classic distance type horse. But we got to the point where when you look at this record, there’s just no doubt he’s a miler.”

Blacker is hoping the Tokyo City Cup could lead to bigger things down the line for Arrowthegreat, who is owned by Double L Racing, Radley Equine, John Cavalli and partners.

“We considered running him last month in the (GIII) Ack Ack (going one mile) at Churchill Downs, but it was coming back a bit too quick from the Del Mar race after such a huge effort,” Blacker said. “I didn’t want him to ‘bounce,’ so we thought it was best to give him a little more time and the Tokyo City was the next race on the calendar at a mile. We’ll see how he runs, but he’s doing great. I’m hoping we can get a bit more adventurous after this if he runs well.”

The Tokyo City Cup goes as the fourth race on a nine-race card Saturday. First post is at 1 p.m. PT and the Tokyo City Cup goes at approximately 2:39 p.m. __The field in post position order: Vodka Vodka, Drayden Van Dyke (8-1); Malarchuk, Umberto Rispoli (3-1); Arrowthegreat, Armando Ayuso (2-1); Mr. A.P., Emisael Jaramillo (9-5); Indispensable, Juan Hernandez (12-1); Lyell’s Song, Abel Lezcano (6-1). __

BREEDERS’ CUP: CALIFORNIA WELL-REPRESENTED IN PRE-ENTRIES

A total of 255 pre-entries were submitted for this year’s Breeders’ Cup on Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland, which includes 222 individual horses. Both are event records. Final entries and the post-position draws for all 14 races will be this Monday. Below are the horses with Santa Anita/California ties among the pre-entries along with trainer.

Note that GII Oak Leaf runner-up Net Par, trained by Antonio Garcia, was pre-entered but has since been withdrawn from consideration. Horses that were cross entered in multiple races are listed by their first preference.

Friday, Oct. 30 Juvenile Fillies: Domain Expansion, Leonard Powell; Miss Monica, Bob Baffert Juvenile Fillies Turf: Vanta, Jeff Mullins Juvenile: Hughes, Bob Baffert; He Is No Lie, Doug O’Neill Juvenile Turf: Maxify (AE), Michael McCarthy

Saturday, Oct. 31 Filly & Mare Sprint: Explora, Bob Baffert; Look Forward, Michael McCarthy; Majestic Oops, Phil D’Amato; Nooni, Bob Baffert; Simply Joking, Michael McCarthy; Splendora, Bob Baffert; Sweet Azteca, Richard Baltas Turf Sprint: Sorrento Sky, Phil D’Amato; Yellow Card (AE), Michael McCarthy Dirt Mile: Full Serrano, John Sadler Filly & Mare Turf: Thought Process, Phil D’Amato Sprint: Iron Man Cal, Phil D’Amato; Roll On Big Joe, Bob Hess Jr.; Liam Smith (AE), Peter Miller Mile: Cabo Spirit, George Papaprodromou; Formidable Man, Michael McCarthy Distaff: Super Corredora, John Sadler __Turf: __Gold Phoenix (AE), Phil D’Amato

OWNER’S STANDINGS: LOVINGIER UP TO 2nd; HRONIS RACING STILL LEADS

Hronis Racing continues to lead the owner’s standings and Terry Lovingier is now up to second. The statistics below are compiled by Thoroughbred Owners of California. If a winning horse has multiple owners, the victory is awarded to the group’s managing partner.

FINISH LINES: Breeders’ Cup bound Super Corredora and Sweet Azteca are both scheduled to work before Friday first race. Super Corredora, pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, will work at 12:20 p.m. for trainer John Sadler. Sweet Azteca, pre-entered in the Filly & Mare Sprint, will work immediately after at 12:25 p.m. for trainer Richard Baltas…Friday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:04 p.m. PT with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park…The $1 Sunset Pick 6 begins at 12:30 p.m. with the seventh race from Gulfstream Park…Trainer Gary Mandella will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Saturday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:50 a.m. PT.