STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

FRIDAY, OCT. 13, 2023

• JOCKEY TYLER BAZE BACK IN WINNER’S CIRCLE AFTER HEALTH SCARE • ULTIMATE HY, ROSE MADDOX MEET AGAIN IN CALIFORNIA DISTAFF • SINGLE WINNING PICK 6 TICKET RETURNS $69,819 ON MONDAY • FRIDAY FOOTBALL FORECAST FOR COLLEGE AND PRO • LIVE RACING RESUMES SATURDAY WITH 11-RACE CARD, 12:30 P.M. POST

TYLER BAZE BACK IN WINNER’S CIRCLE AFTER MAJOR HEALTH SCARE The return of jockey Tyler Baze from a near-fatal health scare this spring was made complete Monday at Santa Anita when the veteran reinsman won his first race in nearly six months. In the fourth race, a $50,000 maiden claimer going six furlongs on dirt, Baze guided longshot Lonesome Stew ($25.20) to a front-running victory for trainer Mark Glatt. It was Baze’s first win since April 14 at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. “I needed it,” Baze said Friday morning at Clocker’s Corner. “It took a lot for me to get to this point after being in the hospital and almost dying.”
Baze, 40, was riding at Oaklawn Park this winter when he first started to feel periods of discomfort. In response, he visited an urgent care facility in Hot Springs. “The doctors couldn’t find anything, so they prescribed me medication. But things didn’t really get any better” Baze said. Then one morning, a friend asked Baze if he was up for going fishing. “I woke up and felt fine. So we went. When I got back to my house about noon, I had a sandwich, and it was just instant pain,” Baze said. “I can’t even describe it. I’ve broken a lot of bones, but I’ve never felt pain like that.” Baze managed to drive himself to a hospital despite the severe discomfort. “As soon as I opened the door to get out of my car, I threw up the sandwich. I don’t remember walking into the hospital or anything after that for five days,” he said. Baze remained hospitalized for about two weeks. Doctors were still struggling to diagnose the problem. “On May 1, I told my nurse I need to see a doctor now. They took me in for another CT scan and by the time I got back to my room the doctor was in there waiting for me. Two minutes later the surgeon walked in. They said, ‘If we don’t do surgery right now, you’re going to die.” Doctors determined Baze had a bowel obstruction. “It was my intestine. I literally was colicking like a horse,” Baze said. “They didn’t have to cut any out. They untangled it basically. The doctor’s words were ‘We had to remold it.’” Baze spent 10 days in the hospital post-surgery, then rode with his mother from Hot Springs back to his home in Monrovia near Santa Anita. Doctors told Baze he would need eight to 10 months to recover. “I was back in the gym in eight weeks,” he said. Baze rode his first race back at Del Mar on Sept. 9. At the current Santa Anita Autumn Meet, he has the one win on Lonesome Stew from seven mounts. Following the health scare, Baze said he’s living with a new perspective. “It’s no longer going through the motions. You realize how precious life is,” Baze said. “Instead of just getting through your morning or through the day, you need to enjoy every minute of it. I get to be out here and look at these beautiful mountains and watch the sun come up every morning. It’s an amazing gift from God.” Baze, a native of Seattle, is scheduled to ride a combined seven races at Santa Anita Saturday and Sunday. “Now with the winner, hopefully things will pick up and I’ll get on better horses,” Baze said. “But this whole ordeal has given me a whole new perspective. I’m only here for a minute. I’m going to enjoy it.” Baze won the 2000 Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey. He enters this week’s action with 2,889 wins and more than $132 million in purse earnings.

ULTIMATE HY, ROSE MADDOX REMATCH IN THE CALIFORNIA DISTAFF Two of the key contenders in Saturday’s California Distaff for statebreds on the hillside turf course, Rose Maddox (5-2) for Steve Miyadi and Ultimate Hy (3-1) for Carla Gaines, will be meeting for the second consecutive time. In the Aug. 26 Solana Beach for statebreds going a mile on turf at Del Mar, Ultimate Hy could do no better than fifth as the 6-5 favorite. Rose Maddox, off at 3-1, was a solid second. There will be new dynamics in play Saturday. Rather than going two turns on the flat, this time they will be sprinting about 6 ½ furlongs on the downhill course. Gaines is hoping the move to the hillside will play in the favor of Ultimate Hy, who was making her stakes debut in the Solana Beach. “I was surprised she didn’t have her late kick last time,” Gaines said. “The course was listed as firm, but it was right after we got all that rain and it was a bit soft. She also came out of the race with a big abscess in her hind foot. I don’t know if it’s an excuse, but it’s what I’m thinking anyway.” Ultimate Hy, a 6-year-old mare by Haimish Hy, has twice previously hit the board on the hillside turf course, both against open allowance foes. Most recently, on April 29, she finished second in a first-level allowance. “She has run very, very well down the hill previously. I think she can be very tactical on that course,” Gaines said. Rose Maddox has only tried the hillside course once, a fifth-place effort in a first-level allowance last December. The 2-1 second choice in the California Distaff is Rose Dawson for trainer Phil D’Amato. Rose Dawson most recently aired by five lengths in a first-level allowance going 6 ½ furlongs on dirt at Los Alamitos on Sept. 16. The 4-year-old Grazen filly has tried the hill twice, which includes a runner-up finish in a classified allowance in June 2022. The California Distaff goes as the seventh race on Saturday’s 11-race card. Post time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The field in post position order: Organic, Hector Berrios (10-1); Kleen Karma, Diego Herrera (5-1); Ultimate Hy, Umberto Rispoli (3-1); Chismosa, Edgar Payeras (8-1); Rose Dawson, Juan Hernandez (2-1); Rose Maddox, Tiago Pereira (5-2); Madiha, Victor Espinoza (15-1).

SINGLE WINNING PICK 6 TICKET RETURNS $69,819 ON MONDAY The Santa Anita Pick 6 on Monday paid $69,819 to one winning ticket. According to Tom Quigley, Santa Anita’s VIP Player Concierge, the ticket was purchased for $1,440 through Xpressbet. The winners of Monday’s Pick 6 sequence, which began with the fourth race, were Lonesome Stew ($25.20), Thermal ($4.80), Ferociously ($16.80), Daniel’s Magic ($11.60), Good With People ($20.40) and Lucky Girl ($15.40). The Pick 6 on Saturday’s 11-race card at Santa Anita kicks off with the sixth race at approximately 3 p.m. Pacific. Average field size is 9.1 starters per race before scratches.

FRIDAY FOOTBALL FORECAST FOR THIS WEEKEND The following is a sampling of racetrack personnel regarding their thoughts on this weekend’s pro and college football slates: Brandon O’Bryan, Cincinnati Bengals-3 “Buy the half point:” Ami Atkinson, USC+2 ½; Jack Carava, Georgia-33; Chargers+2 ½; Tom Knust, Detroit Lions-3; Ron Freitas, Vanderbilt,+33; Brian Beach, 49ers-8 ½; Matt Nakatani, Vikings-3; Derek Lawson, Notre Dame-2 ½; Brad Pegram, 49ers-8 ½; Craig O’Bryan, Washington Huskies-2 ½; Joe Griffen, Buffalo Bills-14 ½; Vince DeGregory, Ravens-4; Mark Glatt, Seahawks+2 ½; Mike Puype, Oregon+2 ½; Phil Oviedo, Raiders-2 ½; Steve Miyadi, USC+2 ½; 49ers-8 ½; Dean Pederson, 49ers-8 ½; Mike McCarthy, Notre Dame-2 ½; Doug O’Neill, UCLA+3 ½

FINISH LINES: Santa Anita has 11 races carded for both Saturday and Sunday. First post is 12:30 p.m each day…On Saturday, Milky Way Farm in Temecula will host a free Autumn Equine Fair that includes information-packed seminars, horse demonstrations, stallion viewings, prize giveaways and networking opportunities. The event is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and participation is free for current and prospective horse owners and breeders…Ryan Cosato, agent for jockey Diego Herrera, will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Saturday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:20 a.m.