STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2024

- PICK 6 CARRYOVER OF $48K AWAITS ON SANTA ANITA DERBY DAY - O’NEILL POISED FOR CLASSIC MEET TRAINER’S TITLE - ANGELS FLIGHT, JOHN SHEAR STAKES PUT BOW ON CLASSIC MEET

PICK 6 CARRYOVER OF $48K AWAITS ON SANTA ANITA DERBY After just a single favorite won on Friday’s nine-race card, a Pick 6 carryover of $48,180.71 awaits horseplayers Saturday at Santa Anita.

The $1 Pick 6 starts with the seventh race at approximately 3:04 p.m. PT. The pool is expected to approach $500,000. Included in the sequence are three stakes: the GIII Monrovia Stakes on the hillside turf course, the featured GI Santa Anita Derby and the Echo Eddie Stakes presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, which goes as the final leg at 5:46 p.m.

The 87th running of the Santa Anita Derby is the 10th race and has an assigned post time of 4:45 p.m. PT. It will be televised live nationally on CNBC and streamed on Peacock.

Average field size for Saturday’s Pick 6 is a robust 9.8 starters per race. The first leg, an allowance/optional claimer at a mile on turf, has a field of 12 led by tepid 9-2 favorite Summer Lake for trainer Carla Gaines. The eighth race, an allowance/optional claimer at six furlongs on dirt, has been scratched down to a field of seven. The 5-2 favorite is California Tiger for trainer Hector Palma.

The Monrovia is headed by 9-5 favorite Ag Bullet for trainer Richard Baltas. The Santa Anita Derby has a field of eight signed on led by 8-5 morning line favorite Imagination for Bob Baffert. An overflow field of 12 awaits the 11th race led by 3-1 favorite Man Among Men for trainer Richard Mandella. The anchor leg, the Echo Eddie, has a field of 11 3-year-olds set to go 6 ½ furlongs on dirt. The 5-2 morning line favorite is unbeaten Tom Seaver, who will be making his first start on dirt for trainer Phil D’Amato.

With no perfect tickets Friday, the consolation payout for 5-of-6 winners returned $1,720.70. The winners in the sequence were #4 De’ Medici ($16.00), #4 Seismic Spirit ($12.80), #1 Sky Cloud ($25.80), #7 Flavius ($4.80), #4 Don’t Fight The Fed ($10.80) and #9 Ang N Ash ($14.20).

First post Saturday is 12 p.m.

O’NEILL POISED FOR CLASSIC MEET TRAINER’S TITLE After winning Friday’s third race with Eddie’s Last ($17.80), Doug O’Neill has a five-win lead in the trainer’s standings entering the final two days of the Santa Anita Classic Meet.

O’Neill picked up his 30th win at the stand with Eddie’s Last, who was ridden by Mario Gutierrez for owner Reddam Racing. Chasing O’Neill in the trainer’s race are Mark Glatt (25 wins and Phil D’Amato with 24.

O’Neill’s lead could prove insurmountable. He has horses entered in six of the 12 races on Saturday and will start 10 horses in nine races on an 11-race program Sunday. On Saturday, O’Neill has starters in three of the five stakes races on the card. He will saddle Miss Lizzy (5-1) in the GIII Monrovia Stakes, E J Won the Cup (15-1) in the GI Santa Anita Derby and Refocus (10-1) in the Echo Eddie Stakes presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Glatt, who won his first Santa Anita trainer’s title at last year’s Autumn Meet, has eight horses entered in seven races over the next two days. In Sunday’s John Shear Stakes on the hillside turf course, Glatt will saddle Practically Broke (5-1).

D’Amato has won five trainer’s titles at Santa Anita. On Saturday, he has 10 horses entered in six races including three stakes. In the Monrovia, he will start Comanche Country (8-1) and Lucky Girl (8-1). In the Echo Eddie, 5-2 favorite Tom Seaver and second-choice Shady Tiger (3-1) will go postward. In the Santa Anita Derby, D’Amato has 5-2 second choice Stronghold.

O’Neill is seeking his first Santa Anita trainer’s title since the 2021 Autumn Meet.  

SATURDAY’S COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 STARTS AT 1 P.M. PT The $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 Saturday starts at 1 p.m. PT and includes four races from Santa Anita and one from Gulfstream Park. Average field size is 9.6 starters per race before scratches.

Kicking off the sequence is the third race from Santa Anita, an allowance/optional claimer for older fillies and mares at six furlongs on turf. A field of 10 is entered led by 5-2 morning line favorite Big Summer for trainer Carla Gaines.

The action then moves to Gulfstream Park for its eighth race, an allowance/optional claimer for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Another field of 10 is entered led by 5-2 morning line favorite Madame Mischief for trainer Jorge Delgado.

On Sunday, the Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 2 p.m. PT. If there is no carryover on Saturday, the pool will be seeded with an additional $100,000.

FINISH LINES: Saturday’s Big 3 Pick 3 starts at 1:07 p.m. PT with the GII Wood Memorial from Aqueduct. The $3 minimum wager also includes the GII Blue Grass from Keeneland and GI Santa Anita Derby…Sunday is the final day of the Classic Meet. Racing will resume April 19 with the start of the Hollywood Meet. The co-features Sunday, the John Shear for 3-year-olds and Angels Flight for 3-year-old fillies, are both contested at about 6 ½ furlongs on the hillside turf course… XBTV analyst and Santa Anita contributor Jeff Seigel will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Saturday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 10:50 a.m.