Santa Anita Stable Notes Thursday, February 15, 2024

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN __THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2024 __

- BAFFLE STAKES: GIII WINNER STAY HOT BEGINS SEASON ON THE HILL - POPULAR CAL-BRED BRICKYARD RIDE RETIRED AT AGE 7 - THURSDAY BEGINS 5-DAY RACE WEEK AT SANTA ANITA - GIII SANTA YSABEL RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 9 - TRAINERS DUTROW, SCOLAMIERI WIN 1st RACES OF CLASSIC MEET - SUNDAY’S $1 COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 RETURNS $42K

BAFFLE STAKES: GIII WINNER STAY HOT BEGINS SEASON ON THE HILL As a 2-year-old last year, Stay Hot won two of three starts at a mile on turf including the GIII Cecil B. DeMille at Del Mar when last seen Dec. 3. His lone defeat at the trip came in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf here Nov. 3.

On Saturday, trainer Peter Eurton will try something different for his sophomore bow. Stay Hot cuts back in distance and tries the unique hillside turf course for the first time in the about 6 ½-furlong Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds.

“We’re kind of gathering information,” Eurton said of trying the hill. “It should also be a good prep for the next one.”

The “next one” is the one-mile Pasadena Stakes for 3-year-olds on March 16.

In the DeMille, Stay Hot settled near the rear of the field after breaking from the far outside under Antonio Fresu. He remained in the second flight before launching a furious wide rally and getting up to win by a neck. “Breaking from post nine, they didn’t really have much choice but to drop back. It was a good effort,” Eurton said. Stay Hot was scheduled to return in the one-mile Eddie Logan Stakes on turf here Dec. 29, but that plan was scrapped after he got sick and had to be scratched. Stay Hot recovered quickly from the illness and has been working every week since Jan. 12.

“I think he’s fast enough, quick enough,” Eurton said of Saturday’s shorter distance. “But also, the hill isn’t like running in a sprint on the flat turf or on dirt. It’s a different kind of race and I think milers generally do well.” Stay Hot signaled his readiness last Saturday with a four-furlong work on the main track timed in a quick 46.80 seconds.

“I don’t know if he worked that fast to be honest, but he did it very well and very easy. He has some athleticism,” Eurton noted.

Stay Hot, who will again have Fresu in the irons, is the 5-2 favorite on Jon White’s morning line. He will break from post three in seven-horse field.

The Baffle goes as the seventh race on Saturday’s nine-race card. Post time is approximately 3:30 p.m. PT. The field in post position order: Heart Headed, Juan Hernandez (3-1); Final Boss, Kazushi Kimura (12-1); Stay Hot, Antonio Fresu (5-2); Hedwig, Umberto Rispoli (3-1); Always On Cay, Frankie Dettori (10-1); Boltage, Mike Smith (4-1); Charge for Gold, Ricardo Gonzalez, (6-1).

POPULAR CAL-BRED BRICKYARD RIDE RETIRED AT AGE 7 Popular California-bred Brickyard Ride has been retired at age seven after suffering a minor injury in a workout here late last month, trainer Craig Lewis said Thursday. “It was nothing serious,” he added. “But Father Time is catching up with him.”

A full horse by Clubhouse Ride, Brickyard Ride won 13-of-31 starts including eight stakes and banked $925,477 for owner-breeder Alfred. A. “Sonny” Pais. His resume includes a trio of graded stakes victories coming in the 2021 GII San Carlos and the GIII Kona Gold in both 2022 and 2023. Most recently, Brickyard Ride finished second to The Chosen Vron in the California Cup Sprint here Jan. 13.

“He was a fun horse. A fast horse that won a lot of races,” Lewis said. “All good things come to an end. It sure was fun while he was here.”

Brickyard Ride last week was sent to a farm in nearby Bradbury where he’ll remain for the rest of the year.

“He’s going to take the year off and then go to stud somewhere next season,” Lewis said.

THURSDAY’S MAKEUP CARD STARTS 5-DAY RACE WEEK AT SANTA ANITA With the addition of Thursday’s nine-race card, which is a makeup for recent weather-related cancellations, Santa Anita hosts five consecutive days of racing ending Monday with a special Presidents’ Day card.

This week’s stakes slate kicks off Saturday with the Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds on the hillside turf course and continues Sunday with the Spring Fever for statebred fillies and mares going six furlongs on dirt. On Monday, the feature is the one-mile Tiznow Stakes for statebreds on dirt, which is expected to include 13-time stakes winner The Chosen Vron for trainer Eric Kruljac.

There are nine races scheduled each day for Thursday, Friday and Saturday with first post at 12:30 p.m. PT. The cards for Sunday and Monday are still to be drawn.

On Presidents’ Day Monday, on-track fans will receive $1 beers and sodas and $2 hot dogs.

FINISH LINES: Trainers Rick Dutrow Jr. and Sam Scolamieri each won their first races at the Classic Meet Sunday. Dutrow won the opener with Into It ($4.60) and Scolamieri scored with Disobey ($12.40) in the eighth race…The GIII Santa Ysabel for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on dirt has been rescheduled for March 9. The Santa Ysabel, originally slated for March 3, serves as the final major prep for the GII Santa Anita Oaks April 6…Santa Anita-based jockeys Flavien Prat and Joel Rosario will be at Fair Grounds Saturday to ride the GII Risen Star, a prep for the 2024 Kentucky Derby. Rosario will be on 7-2 favorite Track Phantom for trainer Steve Asmussen and Prat will ride 12-1 longshot Cardinale for trainer Todd Pletcher...Santa Anita-based Stronghold is entered in Sunday’s GIII Sunland Derby for trainer Phil D’Amato. The Ghostzapper colt is the 5-2 morning-line favorite…Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 paid $42,013.90 for three winning tickets…Santa Anita simulcast analyst Zoe Cadman will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Friday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 11:20 a.m. PT.