STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN SUNDAY, JAN. 29, 2023

• NEWGRANGE HAS OPTIONS AFTER SAN PASQUAL SCORE • QUEEN GODDESS TAKES PEGASUS F & M TURF FOR MCCARTHY • HANSON’S ONE MORE BID OUTRUNS ODDS IN PEGASUS TURF • PLAYER-FRIENDLY ‘COAST TO COAST PICK 5’ RETURNS SUNDAY

NEWGRANGE HAS OPTIONS AFTER SAN PASQUAL SCORE

Newgrange was in fine fettle the morning after his game one-length victory in Saturday’s Grade II San Pasqual Stakes, trainer Phil D’Amato reported. Next up for the 4-year-old Violence colt will likely be either the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap on March 4 or the Dubai World Cup on March 25.

“He came out of the race in good shape,” D’Amato said. “We’ll get a better idea in the next couple of days, but we’ll see if we’re Big ‘Cap-bound or Dubai bound. The owners are going to talk among themselves and come up with a game plan.”

Newgrange’s win in the 1 1/8-mile San Pasqual was his third stakes win overall and first for his current connections, which also includes the ownership group of Rockingham Ranch, David A. Bernsen and Little Red Feather. Last July, after Newgrange won a pair of Grade III stakes on the Kentucky Derby trail for Bob Baffert, he was offered at the Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age

In the San Pasqual, Newgrange broke alertly under leading rider Juan Hernandez and was close to the pace down the backstretch. On the second turn, Newgrange lost ground on the leaders but it was only momentary. When he reached the stretch, Newgrange kicked back into high gear to outrun favorite Hopper and win in a final time of 1:49.97.

“This horse does this in some of his races,” D’Amato said from the Runhappy Winner’s Circle Saturday. “He likes to kind of disengage at the three-eighths pole and then come back on.” In three prior starts for D’Amato, he was third in last summer’s Shared Belief at Del Mar, he won a highly rated classified allowance at Santa Anita and then was third in the Grade III Native Diver on Nov. 27 in his start prior to the San Pasqual.

Newgrange is now a perfect 3-for-3 at Santa Anita. Such a lofty local record appears to have D’Amato leaning towards the Big ‘Cap for his next start rather than shipping to the Middle East for the Dubai World Cup. Both races are at a mile-and-a-quarter on dirt.

“We know he likes this racetrack, he’s undefeated here, so it would be tough to pass up a race like that,” D’Amato said.

Newgrange’s record is now 8-5-0-2 with earnings of $747,334.

QUEEN GODDESS TRIUMPHS IN PEGASUS F & M TURF FOR MCCARTHY

The rich Pegasus World Cup program at Gulfstream Park on Saturday proved a lucrative one for the five-horse raiding party sent east from Santa Anita.

With Queen Goddess winning the Grade III, $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Defunded and Stilleto Boy running two-three in the Grade I, $3 million Pegasus World Cup and One More Bid collecting a check in the Grade I, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, Santa Anita-based horses combined for $1,158,000 in purse money.

In the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, Queen Goddess collected her fourth graded-stakes victory plus $291,000 for trainer Michael McCarthy and the ownership group of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber. Under a deft ride by Luis Saez, the often front-running Queen Goddess was instead put in an outside stalking position just off a pair of speed horses. Then when given her cue near the quarter pole, Queen Goddess took command and finished strong through the lane to win by 1 ½ lengths at odds of 4-1.

“She’d run a couple of respectable races coming from just off the pace. I thought Luis put her in a great spot,” McCarthy said. “It looked like she was always moving comfortably. She had a dream trip really. He touched the button and she obviously exploded. It was a great effort.”

The winning time for 1 1/16 miles on firm turf was 1:41.91. Queen Goddess, a 4-year-old daughter of Empire Maker, has now banked $761,580 with a record of 11-6-2-1. Her previous stakes wins came in the 2021 Grade I American Oaks and last year’s Grade II Santa Ana and Grade III Robert J. Frankel, all at Santa Anita.

Queen Goddess is scheduled to return to Santa Anita on Tuesday, The Pegasus was Queen Goddess’s third start outside of California. McCarthy said another trip east is likely for her next outing.

“She’s well-traveled obviously,” McCarthy said. “She’ll come back to California for a bit and will likely find herself on the road again in the spring.”

HANSON’S ONE MORE BID OUTRUNS ODDS IN PEGASUS WORLD CUP TURF

At 38-1, Santa Anita-based One More Bid was the third-longest shot on the board in the 12-horse Grade I Pegasus World Cup Turf on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. He nearly took the field gate to wire for trainer Ryan Hanson.

With Hall of Famer Mike Smith in the irons, One More Bid broke on top and led until the final furlong before he was finally overtaken. He would ultimately check in fifth, just two necks away from third, and 2 ¼ lengths adrift of winner Atone.

Hanson, who was on hand at Gulfstream Park for the effort, was already back at Santa Anita Sunday morning for training. He said One More Bid exited the effort in good condition.

“They said in Florida he walked sound this morning and cleaned up his food,” he noted. “He’ll come back to Santa Anita on Tuesday.”

One More Bid was aiming for his third straight win in the Pegasus following a maiden tally at Del Mar in November followed by a win in the Grade II Mathis Mile here on Dec. 26. Hanson noted the difference on Saturday may have been that One More Bid was exiting a race at a mile.

“He tried hard. I think at a mile-and-a-sixteenth he would have won, but that extra sixteenth of a mile hurt us,” Hanson said. “It’s not to say he can’t get a mile and an eighth, but I think coming out of a mile race it was just a little too far.”

A 4-year-old gelding by California Chrome, One More Bid is co-owned by Hanson, California Racing Partners and Ciaglia Racing. The $27,900 fifth-place share of the Pegasus Turf upped his bankroll to $262,540.

“It was a good experience,” Hanson said of his day at Gulfstream. “But the biggest thing is we’re just happy the horse ran well and he came out of it in good shape.”

PLAYER-FRIENDLY COAST TO COAST PICK 5 RETURNS SUNDAY

Sunday’s Coast to Coast Pick 5, which is a $1 minimum wager with a player-friendly 15 percent takeout, starts with the ninth race from Gulfstream Park at 1:19 p.m. The sequence also includes the 10th and 11th races from Gulfstream and the fourth and sixth races from Santa Anita.

Saturday’s Coast to Coast Pick 5 had a pool of $330,374 and returned $11,699.50 to 24 winning tickets.

Finish Lines: Leading rider Juan Hernandez won four more races Saturday to open up a 16-length lead in the jockey standings….There is a $247,941 carryover for Sunday’s Rainbow Pick 6 Jackpot. It is a 20-cent minimum wager…Entering Sunday, favorites have won at a 29.7 percent clip through 14 racing days at the current Classic Meet.