Santa Anita Stable Notes Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

SATURDAY, OCT. 31, 2026

• HERNANDEZ NEARS ANOTHER RIDING TITLE, O’NEILL LEADS TRAINERS • GII TWILIGHT DERBY: PROLETARIAT ODDS-ON FAVE FOR MULLINS • GI AMERICAN PHAROAH WINNER HUGHES WINS BC JUVENILE • MANDATORY PAYOUTS IN ALL POOLS CLOSING DAY SUNDAY

HERNANDEZ NEARING ANOTHER RIDING TITLE, O’NEILL LEADS TRAINERS

With two days remaining in the Autumn Meet, Juan Hernandez is poised to win another jockey’s title at Santa Anita and Doug O’Neill leads in the race for leading trainer.

Hernandez has won 19 races from 94 mounts (20 percent) and holds a two-win lead over Emisael Jaramillo. Both are riding at Keeneland on Saturday where they have Breeders’ Cup mounts. In Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint Saturday, Hernandez earned his first Breeders’ Cup victory when guiding favorite Bacio ($6.36) to a gate-to-wire victory for trainer Wesley Ward.

Following Hernandez and Jaramillo in the Santa Anita jockey’s standings is Kazushi Kimura, who is also at Keeneland Saturday. He has won 15 races. Kimura is followed by Joel Rosario, also riding at Keeneland Saturday, who has won 14 races.

On Sunday, Jaramillo is not named on mounts anywhere. Hernandez has seven rides booked at Santa Anita. Kimura has an outside chance to catch Hernandez as he has six mounts at Santa Anita Sunday. Rosario also has six mounts here on Sunday.

This would be Hernandez’s fourth straight year winning the riding title at the Autumn Meet.

On the trainer’s side, O’Neill has 13 wins and is followed by George Papaprodromou with 11 wins. O’Neill has six horses entered in six races over the final two days, while Papaprodromou has six horses entered in five races. O’Neill finished as the leading trainer at the Classic Meet earlier this year. Papaprodromou has never won a Santa Anita trainer’s title.

GII TWILIGHT DERBY: PROLETARIAT ODDS-ON FAVE FOR MULLINS

The Grade II Twilight Derby at 1 1/8 miles on turf is the featured race on a 10-race card on closing day of the Autumn Meet Sunday. First post is at 12 p.m. PT and the Twilight Derby goes as the fourth race at 1:32 p.m.

Looming as the heavy favorite in the Twilight Derby is Proletariat, a winner of three straight including two stakes who is 3-5 on the morning line. Trained by Jeff Mullins, Proletariat during the Del Mar summer meet won both the Oceanside Stakes going one mile on turf and the GII Del Mar Derby at 1 1/8 miles on the lawn. The gelding by Raging Bull, a $200,000 auction purchase last year, enters with a record of 7: 4-0-3 and $389,400 in earnings for owners Dutch Girl Holding and Irving Ventures. He’ll break from the rail under regular rider Kyle Frey.

Also exiting the Del Mar Derby are Grade III winner Unrivaled Time (5-1), Melismatic (6-1)—one of two entered for trainer Phil D’Amato—and Tribalism (8-1), who goes for trainer Michael McCarthy.

Unrivaled Time, trained by Leonard Powell, finished fourth beaten 2 ¼ lengths by Proletariat in the Del Mar Derby. Last year, the colt by Not This Time won the GIII Cecil B. DeMille at Del Mar earlier this year won the Snow Chief for California-breds going 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Melismatic, an English-bred colt by Space Blues, finished 3 ½ lengths back of Proletariat in the Del Mar Derby in fifth. It was the stakes debut for Melismatic. Tribalism, an Irish-bred colt by No Nay Never, ran evenly in the Del Mar Derby and was beaten 4 ½ lengths in seventh.

The field for the Twilight Derby in post position order: Proletariat, Kyle Frey (3-5); Melismatic, Kazushi Kimura (6-1); Tribalism, Jamie Spencer (8-1); Esso, Umberto Rispoli (12-1); Unrivaled Time, Joel Rosario (5-1); Path To Power, Juan Hernandez (6-1).

GI AMERICAN PHAROAH WINNER HUGHES WINS BC JUVENILE

Hughes, winner of the Grade I American Pharoah at Santa Anita on Oct. 3, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Keeneland Saturday to stay unbeaten in five starts and lock up the Eclipse Award as North America’s champion 2-year-old male. Following the race, trainer Bob Baffert said Hughes would be based at Santa Anita this winter for the start of the Classic Meet opening on Dec. 26.

Hughes prevailed in the Juvenile by 2 ¼ lengths under Flavien Prat as the 4-5 favorite. It was a record seventh time Baffert has won the Juvenile. Hughes would be the eighth champion 2-year-old male trained by Baffert joining Citizen Bull (2024), Corniche (2021), Game Winner (2018), American Pharoah (2014), Lookin at Lucky (2009), Midshipman (2008) and Vindication (2002).

Baffert also saddled third-place finisher Salahudin in the Juvenile. "Going in, I knew Hughes was good, but I didn't know how good he was," Baffert told the Breeders’ Cup notes team Sunday morning. "He did everything so effortlessly yesterday. He showed what a really good horse shows: he goes fast and then he goes faster. I love those kinds of horses. Pharoah had that trait. Justify had that trait."

Salahudin finished a head back of second-place finisher American History. It was the first loss in four starts for the colt by Uncle Mo.

"I think I am going to take the blinkers off him," said Baffert, who equipped Salahudin with them in his first three starts, all wins. "(Jockey Tyler Gaffalione) got him into the race and then he was blocked. He is really a big horse, the kind of horse that cannot stop and go. Hughes, he moves like a cheetah, he is quick on his feet.

"He had a rough trip," Baffert added of Salahudin. "He still ran well; going long next year, he is going to be really good."

FINISH LINES: Saturday’s $1 Sunset Pick 6 has a $2,024 carryover. It starts at 1:25 p.m. PT with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park…The $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 begins at 2:24 p.m. with the 10th race from Gulfstream…Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings was the breeder of three winners on Friday’s card at Santa Anita—two of which were produced from the same mare. Stonestreet bred the winner of the fourth race, Captivator ($4), who was ridden by Armando Ayuso and is trained by John Sadler. They also bred the seventh race winner Street Swindler ($6.20), ridden by Abel Lezcano for trainer Mark Glatt; and Magic Time ($10.60), who won the ninth race with Victor Espinoza aboard for trainer Michael McCarthy. Street Swindler, a 3-year-old filly by Candy Ride, and Magic Time, 2 -year-old colt by Not This Time, are both out of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Flash Magic. Magic Time was a $1.15 million auction purchase as a yearling…On closing day Sunday, there will be mandatory payouts in all pari-mutuel pools. First post is at 12 p.m. PT for a 10-race card…Toby Turrell, clocker and publisher of The Winner’s Card, will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Sunday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 10:50 a.m.