Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2026

• TRAINER ALVAREZ NOTCHES FIRST STAKES WIN WITH CUPID COWBOY • CARRYOVERS INCLUDE $30K IN $2 PICK 6, $22K IN $1 PLACE PICK 8 • WORKS: QUEEN MAXIMA, MAN O ROSE LEAD TAB ON WET MORNING • O’NEILL CLINCHES TRAINER’S TITLE ENTERING CLOSING DAY

TRAINER ALVAREZ NOTCHES FIRST STAKES WIN WITH CUPID COWBOY

Trainer Edwin Alvarez’s first-ever stakes winner, Cupid Cowboy, was doing well the morning after rallying to victory in the Golden State Juvenile for statebred 2-year-olds Saturday at Santa Anita. “He’s great. He woke up like it was nothing,” Alvarez said.

Cupid Cowboy, dispatched as a 28-1 longshot, won the seven-furlong Golden State Juvenile by one length under Abel Lezcano. Alvarez also saddled fourth-place finisher Fumano’s Fire. Four races after the Juvenile, Alvarez also collected his third win of the Autumn Meet when High Hull Gill prevailed under Cristobal Herrera and paid $17.80.

Cupid Cowboy, a colt by Stay Thirst, is owned by breeder Terry Lovingier, Victor M. Flores and John Moroney. He improved to 7: 2-1-2 with $195,900 in earnings.

“I feel happy, very happy,” Alvarez said. “It was my dream to win a stake, and now I got it. I just hope my first isn’t my last, that more are coming.”

Did Alvarez go out and celebrate his big day? That would be negative.

“No time to celebrate. It’s amazing, after I won two races, I drove to LAX to pick up a horse for (trainer) Ron Ellis. You know what time I was finished yesterday from LAX?” Alvarez said while pulling out his phone and showing the itinerary. “9:45. It never stops.”

If trainers don’t work long enough hours, Alvarez also drives a semi-truck for Harbor Freight Transport.

“I pick up horses for all the trainers at Santa Anita. Tomorrow, I have one load to take to Del Mar.”

A 49-year-old native of Guatemala, Alvarez has been training since 2020. He previously spent 20 years working as an assistant for trainer Gary Sherlock. When Sherlock died in December 2019 at the age of 73, Alvarez took the reins.

“When he passed away, I took all the equipment and the horses for Lovingier,” Alvarez said. “There were 12 I started with.”

Alvarez now has 34 horses on his shedrow.

After Cupid Cowboy’s win, Lovingier honored Alvarez for his first stakes victory.

“I spent a lot of years with Gary Sherlock, who Edwin was with. It is great to be here for his first stakes win,” Lovingier said.

As for what’s next for Cupid Cowboy, Alvarez said he will likely run in the one-mile King Glorious for statebreds at Los Alamitos on Dec. 13.

“This horse has waited for longer races. He’s getting better and better and the distance should only help.”

CARRYOVERS INCLUDE $30K IN $2 PICK 6, $22K IN $1 PLACE PICK 8

There are carryovers Sunday of $30,023 in the $2 Pick 6, $22,813 in the $1 Place Pick 8 and $7,727 in the $1 Sunset Pick 6. With Sunday being closing day of the Autumn Meet, there are mandatory payouts in all pari-mutuel pools. The 10-race card gets underway at 12 p.m. PT.

The $2 Pick 6 begins with the fifth race at 2:03 p.m. Santa Anita officials estimate a total pool of $250,000. The Place Pick 8, which has a low 15% takeout, challenges bettors to pick a horse to finish first or second in each of the final eight races on the program. It starts with the third race at 1:01 p.m. The Sunset Pick 6 links the final three races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. Also featuring a low 15 percent takeout rate, it starts at 1:12 p.m. with the ninth race from Gulfstream at 4:12 p.m.

The carryover in the $2 Pick 6 was clinched in Saturday’s ninth and penultimate race when longshot Palo Alto Baby, ridden by Emmanuel Esquivel and trained by Peter Miller, scored in the Golden State Juvenile Fillies Stakes and paid $19.80. The consolation payout for tickets with 5-of-6 winners was $2,573.40.

The winning horses in Saturday’s Pick 6 starting with the fifth race were #10 Dirty Words ($5), #6 Joe Vittori ($13.40), #9 High Hull Gill ($17.80), #4 Little Jaime ($21.20), #11 Palo Alto Baby ($19.80) and #5 Prince Dolce ($7.20). Full entries for Sunday’s card can be found at santaanita.com.

WORKS: QUEEN MAXIMA, MAN O ROSE LEAD TAB ON WET MORNING

With the main track closed due to rain, the synthetic training track hosted 59 workers Sunday morning. Among the notables on the tab were stablemates Queen Maxima and Man O Rose for trainer Jeff Mullins, and stakes winner Balnikhov, Later Than Planned and Kentucky Gal for trainer Phil D’Amato.

Queen Maxima, sidelined since May when winning the Mizdirection Stakes at Santa Anita, worked for the fifth time on the comeback trail. The 5-year-old Bucchero mare drilled five furlongs in 59.8 seconds.

Man O Rose, a seven-time stakes winner, hasn’t started since Sept. 19 when winning the E.B Johnston Stakes at Los Alamitos for the third year in a row. The 6-year-old gelding by Stanford worked five furlongs in 1:01.0.

Balnikhov, a multiple Grade III winner, worked five furlongs in 1:00.8. The 7-year-old gelding by Adaay most recently won a 1 1/8-mile allowance/optional claimer on turf on Sept. 8 at Del Mar when entered for the $50,000 claiming price.

Later Than Planned, moist recently fourth in the GII Eddie D on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita, worked five furlongs in 59.6 seconds. It was the fastest of 19 works at the distance.

On Monday, the main track will be open for joggers only. Works will again be permitted on the training track.

FINISH LINES: Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:32 p.m. PT with the 10th race from Gulfstream Park…Doug O’Neill has clinched the Autumn Meet trainer’s title. O’Neill has won 13 races entering closing day Sunday, which is two more than runner-up George Papaprodromou. Papaprodromou has just one horse entered on Sunday’s program…In the jockey’s race, Kazushi Kimura remains with an outside chance to upend Juan Hernandez. Kimura trails Hernandez by four wins entering Sunday. He has six mounts on the closing day program. Hernandez has seven mounts.