Santa Anita Stable Notes Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN

SUNDAY, OCT. 25, 2026

• MR. A.P. EYES GIII NATIVE DIVER AT DEL MAR AFTER TOKYO CITY WIN • WORKS: MILLIONAIRE GRAND SLAM SMILE BACK ON TAB • CARRYOVERS: $109K IN $2 PICK 6, $20K IN SUPER HI 5, $16K IN SUNSET • JARAMILLO WINS 3 SATURDAY INCLUDING BOTH STAKES

MR. A.P. EYES GIII NATIVE DIVER AT DEL MAR AFTER TOKYO CITY WIN

Trainer Vladimir Cerin reported Mr. A.P. was “just perfect” the morning after earning his first stakes win Saturday in the Tokyo City Cup going one mile. Mr. A.P., runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, could next run in the GIII Native Diver going 1 1/8 miles on Nov. 21 at Del Mar, Cerin added.

A 3-year-old ridgling by American Pharoah, Mr. A.P. won the Tokyo City Cup by 1 ¾ lengths under Emisael Jaramillo. He sat patiently behind multiple horses battling on the front end before spurting clear in the stretch to win comfortably. The final time of 1:36.87 earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form.

“That was good. He actually ran well,” Cerin said. “I checked on Equibase and he ran the last eighth (of a mile) in 12.18 (seconds).

“It was kind of an eventful ride. He got bumped on the first turn on both sides and was squeezed on the second turn. He acted like a professional under a really good ride.”

Prior to the Tokyo City Cup, Mr. A.P. finished fourth in the GI Goodwood going 1 1/8 miles when facing older horses for the first time on Sept. 26 at Santa Anita. That followed a trio of turf tries that included two stakes efforts and an allowance win.

Looming on the horizon for 3-year-olds is the Grade I Malibu, which is seven furlongs and run the day after Christmas on opening day of the Santa Anita Classic Meet. Cerin said he is hesitant to have Mr. A.P. cut back to a sprint.

“I’d kind of hate to go back in distance and run seven-eighths in the Malibu. They run real, real fast,” Cerin said. “We might run there or just wait until the next two-turn race. I’d like to be in a position where you’re pretty confident you can win. He’s only 3. There will be opportunities for him down the line.”

Mr. A.P. is owned by Holly Wilson and David Wilson. He now has a record of 9: 3-3-1 with $558,256 in earnings.

Cerin also provided an update on his promising 2-year-old Kennyten. Following a smashing debut win in June at Santa Anita, Kennyten returned to finish third in the GIII Best Pal won by undefeated Hughes going six furlongs on Aug. 8 at Del Mar. Kennyten worked multiple times following that effort with the last coming on Sept. 14. Cerin said the colt by Drain the Clock “just wasn’t comfortable” and will not run again until next year.

“There was nothing really wrong with him, but I just thought I’d give him three months,” Cerin said. “He’s here, he just won’t race for three or four months.”

WORKS: MILLIONAIRE GRAND SLAM SMILE BACK ON TAB

Top California-bred mare Grand Slam Smile, who surpassed $1 million in earnings when collecting her 11th stakes win in the California Distaff Handicap on Oct. 11 at Santa Anita, returned to the work tab Sunday at Santa Anita.

Trained by Sean McCarthy, Grand Slam Smile worked an easy five furlongs in 1:04. By Smiling Tiger, Grand Slam Smile is a candidate to make a title defense in the Betty Grable Stakes for statebreds going seven furlongs on Nov. 8 at Del Mar. Grand Slam Smile sports a record of 24: 13-6-3 with $1,057,120 in earnings for owners-breeders Larry D. Williams and Marianne Williams. Continuing to gear up for trainer Jeff Mullins was multiple graded stakes winner Queen Maxima. Off since May, Queen Maxima worked for the fourth time this month when drilling four furlongs on the training track in 47.2 seconds. It was the second-fastest of 19 works at the distance.

Also working for Mullins was top California-bred Man O Rose. The 6-year-old gelding by Stanford worked five furlongs in 1:01.6. Man O Rose, a seven-time stakes winner, most recently won the E.B Johnston Stakes going one mile at Los Alamitos for the third year in a row on Sept. 19.

Grade I winner Lovesick Blues, sidelined since a trip to the Middle East earlier this year, worked five furlongs in 1:00.2 for trainer Librado Barocio. It was his third work since Aug. 29. A 7-year-old California-bred gelding by Grazen, Lovesick Blues this year was fifth in the GIII Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia in February and then eighth in the GI Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 28. Last year, Lovesick Blues won the GI Bing Crosby at Del Mar.

CARRYOVERS: $109K IN $2 PICK 6, $20K IN SUPER HI 5, $16K IN SUNSET

Santa Anita on Sunday has a double carryover of $109,519 in the $2 Pick 6, $20,426 carryover in the $1 Super High 5 and $16,534 carryover in the $1 Sunset Pick 6. First post is at 1 p.m. PT for a nine-race card.

The $2 Pick 6 begins with the fourth race at approximately 2:30 p.m. Santa Anita officials estimate the $2 Pick 6 will have a total pool of $750,000. The Super High 5 carryover will be up for grabs in the ninth and final race at approximately 5 p.m. The Sunset Pick 6, which links the final three races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, begins at 1:06 p.m.

To help bettors make informed decisions, free past performances from Daily Racing Form are available for the full card at Santa Anita. They can be accessed at https://promos.drf.com/santaanita25.

The $2 Pick 6 carryover was clinched in Saturday’s eighth and penultimate race when The Warden, ridden by Ricky Gonzalez and trained by Phil D’Amato, won and paid $32.80. The consolation payout for tickets with 5-of-6 winners was $1,428.80.

The winning horses in Saturday’s Pick 6 starting with the fourth race were #4 Mr. A.P. ($3.80), #7 Unusualalexis ($14), #4 Quick Express ($5), #4 Pura Vida Princesa ($24.40), #2 The Warden ($32.80) and #1 Weho ($25.40).

FINISH LINES: Emisael Jaramillo won three races Saturday including both stakes to move into a tie atop the jockey’s standings with Juan Hernandez. Jaramillo won the fourth race, the Tokyo City Cup, aboard Mr. A.P. ($3.80) for trainer Vladimir Cerin; the seventh race, the Senator Ken Maddy Stakes, on Pura Vida Princesa ($24.40) for trainer Doug O’Neill; and the ninth and final race with Weho ($25.40) for trainer John Sadler. Jaramillo and Hernandez both have 17 wins at the meet entering Sunday…Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:38 p.m. PT with the ninth race from Gulfstream Park…Santa Anita will host four stakes next week on the final weekend of the Autumn Meet. On Saturday, the card will include the GIII Goldikova for fillies and mares at one mile on turf; and the Golden State Juvenile and Golden State Juvenile Fillies, which are both for California-breds going seven furlongs. Sunday’s closing day card will feature the GII Twilight Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf.