Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, May 31, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2026

• OM N JOY WILL GET EASY 30 DAYS, POINT TO GI CLEMENT HIRSCH
• RON GLATT SADDLES FIRST WINNER IN OVER QUARTER CENTURY
• $18K CARRYOVER IN $1 SUNSET PICK 6 SUNDAY; FREE DRF PP’S
• WORKS: BELMONT BOUND VITRUVIAN MAN, GOLD PHOENIX LEAD TAB
• MAKEUP DAY ADDED FOR CLOSING WEEK ON THURSDAY, JUNE 11

OM N JOY WILL GET EASY 30 DAYS, POINT TO GI CLEMENT HIRSCH

Trainer Aggie Ordonez Sunday morning reported Om N Joy was no worse for wear after earning her second graded stakes win Saturday in the GII Santa Margarita going 1 1/8 miles.

“She’s wonderful,” Ordonez said.

Om N Joy won the Santa Margarita by 3 ¾ lengths at 8-1 when rallying from last under Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux. It upped her record to 17: 6-0-5 with $616,703 in earnings for breeders Jerry Baker and Connie Baker and partners Michael Golovko and Terrence J. Scanlan.

The Santa Margarita was Om N Joy’s first win in four starts this year. She previously was third in the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita, fifth in last month’s GI Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park and seventh in last weekend’s Fran’s Valentine for California-breds when testing turf.

Ordonez said Om N Joy will now get an easy 30 days before gearing up for a start in the GI Clement L Hirsch on Aug. 1 at Del Mar.

“I would say that’s the plan. Now I have the luxury of training her light and keeping her happy. It will be a good month for both of us,” Ordonez said.

Om N Joy is a 4-year-old daughter of Om produced by the Hard Spun mare Margie’s Minute. Her previous graded stakes win came last year in the GIII Torrey Pines going one mile at Del Mar.

Ordonez also reported Om N Joy’s older half-brother, Vodka Vodka, is nearing a return to the work tab. Vodka Vodka won the Sunland Park Stakes on April 5 but emerged from the victory with a bruised foot, which forced him to miss an intended start in the GII Hollywood Gold Cup on May 25.

“He’s getting close. Once he’s back working we’ll let him tell us what to do next,” Ordonez said.

Also bred and campaigned by the Bakers, Vodka Vodka is a 6-year-old gelding by Stay Thirsty. In January, he won the Unusual Heat Turf Classic for statebreds at Santa Anita. Vodka Vodka is 13: 5-3-0 with $569,950 in earnings.

RON GLATT SADDLES FIRST WINNER IN OVER QUARTER CENTURY

More than a quarter of a century after retiring from training, Ron Glatt reached the winner’s circle Saturday at Santa Anita as both trainer and owner of Smile Baby Smile, who upset the third race as the longest shot on the board.

Smile Baby Smile prevailed in a statebred allowance/optional claimer going six furlongs on the main track under a rail-skimming ride by Abel Lezcano. She paid $61.20. Glatt claimed the 5-year-old mare by Smiling Tiger for $8,000 last June. On Saturday, she was entered for the $20,000 optional claiming tag.

“She’s a big, good-looking mare,” Glatt explained for the claim. “I liked some of the races she was in and she was in cheap that day. I thought I’d take a chance.”

Glatt, 80, is the father of Mark Glatt, one of the top trainers at Santa Anita. He won 676 races during a training career that began in 1976. Glatt most notably was a leading force at Emerald Downs in Washington upon its opening in 1996. According to Equibase, Glatt’s last starter as trainer prior to Saturday came on Sept. 10, 2000, at Emerald Downs.

“I’ve been involved,” Glatt said. “I’ve had some horses with my son, and I do some training on the farm helping horses get their foundation.”

In 2024, Glatt won two races as owner, both with Sol Del Sur. The gelding by Medaglia d’Oro won at Santa Anita when trained by Mark Glatt and at Turf Paradise when Vann Belvoir was the listed trainer.

After Glatt claimed Smile Baby Smile last summer, she didn’t return to the races until earlier this month. On May 3, Smile Baby Smile ran in a similar statebred allowance/optional claimer and finished last of five.

“She needed some time off, but I wanted to give her another chance because you just never know,” Glatt said. “Today I ran her for 20 because I wanted to save that condition just in case she got good this year. I don’t know how she’ll do down at Del Mar, it’s tough there, but we got the money today.”

As the winning owner, Glatt earned $40,200 of the $67,000 purse.

$18K CARRYOVER IN $1 SUNSET PICK 6 SUNDAY; FREE DRF PP’S

There is a $15,886 carryover in Sunday’s $1 Sunset Pick 6, which combines the final three races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. The wager starts at 1:06 p.m. PT with the seventh race from Gulfstream.

To help make informed selections, free Daily Racing Form past performances are available for the Sunset 6 sequence. They can be accessed at https://promos.drf.com/sunset-pick6.

The Sunset Pick 6 features a low 15 percent takeout and is open to retail players only.

WORKS: BELMONT BOUND VITRUVIAN MAN, GOLD PHOENIX LEAD TAB

Vitruvian Man, slated to run in this Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, worked six furlongs from the gate Sunday at Santa Anita. Other notables on the tab included Gold Phoenix, graded stakes winner Paradise Lake and Magnificat, who is nominated to next Sunday’s Desert Stormer Stakes.

Vitruvian Man, trained by Doug O’Neill, completed his drill in 1:13.8. Post positions for the Belmont Stakes will be drawn on Monday at 2 p.m. PT. By Vino Rosso, Vitruvian Man most recently was third in the GI Santa Anita Derby in his stakes debut on April 4.

Gold Phoenix worked five furlongs on the training track in 1:01.2. Trained by Phil D’Amato, Gold Phoenix is targeting the GIII San Juan Capistrano on June 14, closing day of the Hollywood Meet. Gold Phoenix most recently shipped to Churchill Downs and finished seventh in the GI Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 2.

Magnificat earned a bullet when drilling four furlongs in a quick 46.6 seconds. Trained by Richard Mandella, the 4-year-old filly by Omaha Beach exits an allowance win going six furlongs on turf May 15 at Santa Anita. The Desert Stormer is at six furlongs on the main track. Entries will be taken on Tuesday for the Desert Stormer program.

Paradise Lake, winner of the GIII Robert J. Frankel in January, worked for the second time since finishing fifth on March 15 in the GIII Santa Ana. Trained by Peter Eurton, the 5-year-old mare by Uncle Mo drilled an easy three furlongs on the training track in 39.2 seconds.

FINISH LINES: Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:36 p.m. with the eighth race from Gulfstream Park. On Saturday, the Coast to Coast paid $36,550 for two winning tickets…This Saturday fans can enter Santa Anita starting at 7:30 a.m. to watch and wager on the Belmont Stakes program from Saratoga. First post at Saratoga is at 8 a.m. The live card at Santa Anita will start at 1 p.m. Post time for the Belmont Stakes is 4:04 p.m…On Saturday Santa Anita will also host the $1,500 Belmont Stakes Challenge live money handicapping tournament. On-track players can enter starting at 6:30 a.m. through the East Gate… A makeup day of live racing has been added for Thursday June 11. It will kick off a four-day race week to close out the Hollywood Meet.