Santa Anita Stable Notes Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025

STABLE NOTES BY VICTOR RYAN THURSDAY, SEPT. 25, 2025

• GII CITY OF HOPE: JOHANNES DEFENDS TITLE AFTER ROUGH RETURN • GII JOHN HENRY: GOLD PHOENIX, STAY HOT READY FOR ROUND 2 • $1 SUNSET PICK 6 DEBUTS FRIDAY; $1 COAST-TO-COAST P5 RETURNS • OPENING DAY: 9-RACE CARD FRIDAY KICKS OFF 16-DAY AUTUMN MEET

GII CITY OF HOPE: JOHANNES DEFENDS TITLE AFTER ROUGH RETURN

Following a splendid 2024 campaign that nearly resulted in an Eclipse Award as North America’s outstanding turf horse, Johannes made his much-anticipated return to the races Aug. 2 when shipped to Saratoga to tackle the GI Fourstardave at a mile on grass. Things did not go as planned.

“From the moment the gates opened, nothing went right,” trainer Tim Yakteen said Thursday morning.

Sent off the 9-5 favorite with Umberto Rispoli up, Johannes became rank shortly after the start of the Fourstardave and found himself last of 10 when entering the backstretch. He did try to mount a rally in the final quarter mile but flattened out late in a rare sub-par performance for the seven-time stakes winner.

“That’s behind us,” Yakteen said of the New York trip. “The important thing is he’s come back in excellent shape.”

Johannes will try and rebound on Saturday at Santa Anita when he makes a title defense in the GII City of Hope Mile. Last year, Johannes won the City of Hope prior to finishing second by less than a length in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar. The Breeders’ Cup was his only loss in six starts last year, all graded stakes.

“This is the race we’ve been targeting,” Yakteen said of the City of Hope. “It was the perfect springboard for him last year to the Breeders’ Cup. We’re trying to replicate that. Hopefully he’ll have a cleaner break and a less eventful race this time around.”

Johannes, a 5-year-old horse by Nyquist, is listed as the even-money favorite on the morning line in a field of six set for the City of Hope. Owned by CUYATHY LLC, Johannes is 14: 8-1-1 with $1,159,359 in earnings.

Johannes’s key rivals include Almendares (3-1) and Final Boss (4-1). Almendares, trained by Phil D’Amato, exits a runner-up finish in the GII Del Mar Mile won by Formidable Man on Aug. 30 at Del Mar. Prior to that effort, the 5-year-old gelding by Havana Grey won the restricted Wickerr at a mile on turf at Del Mar.

“He’s training phenomenal,” D’Amato said. “He’s going to have to bring his A+ game to beat Johannes, but that’s the way he’s been training. If we can get the right kind of trip, I think it’s possible.”

Final Boss, trained by John Sadler, beat a salty allowance that included Gold Phoenix when going a mile on turf at Del Mar Aug. 2. He then stretched out to 1 3/8 miles for the GII Del Mar Handicap four weeks later. Final Boss showed the way through a moderate pace that day before weakening late to finish sixth.

“That was probably a little too far for him,” Sadler said. “Now we’re dropping him back to a mile. There’s a pretty prohibitive favorite in there with Yakteen’s horse, but our horse is a nice horse. He’s a stakes winner over the course and always runs his race.”

The City of Hope, which is an automatic qualifier for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile, goes as the fourth race on a 10-race card for Saturday. Post time is set for 2:34 p.m. PT. The field in post position order: Zio Jo, Mirco Demuro (10-1); Scoobie Quando, Kazushi Kimura (20-1); Johannes, Umberto Rispoli (even); Final Boss, Juan Hernandez (4-1); Almendares, Antonio Fresu (3-1); Cabo Spirit, Mike Smith (9-2).

GII JOHN HENRY: GOLD PHOENIX, STAY HOT READY FOR ROUND 2

After being separated by just a neck in last month’s GII Del Mar Handicap, Gold Phoenix and Stay Hot will meet for round two in Saturday’s GII John Henry Turf Championship going 1 ¼ miles.

In the 1 3/8-mile Del Mar Handicap, Gold Phoenix rallied late under Umberto Rispoli to get up just in time and nip Stay Hot. It was an unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the Del Mar Handicap for Gold Phoenix.

“That meant a lot to me,” D’Amato said of Gold Phoenix’s historic achievement. “And I know it meant a lot to the owners, the help, and everyone who has been with him since Day 1. This is why you get involved in the game for the opportunities to make history like that. It was just a fun day.”

Following that victory, D’Amato had considered waiting to run Gold Phoenix back in the Breeders’ Cup Turf on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. But after a pair of subsequent works, D’Amato elected to go ahead and enter Gold Phoenix in the John Henry.

“He came out of the race in really good shape, I have two nice breezes in him and this was coming up as a short field,” D’Amato explained. “I weighed my options and felt it was best to put another race in him here and then not have to train him as hard going into the Breeders’ Cup.”

Stay Hot will look to see if he can flip the script on Gold Phoenix with the move to Santa Anita for the John Henry. Prior to the Del Mar Handicap, the 4-year-old Summer Front colt had never run beyond 1 1/8 miles.

“The main thing is it seems he can get the distance,” Eurton said. “Hopefully we will fall into a nice spot, get in a good rhythm and we’ll see if we can’t turn the tables.”

Stay Hot is 3-for-6 with two runner-up finishes at Santa Anita. Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who was aboard for the Del Mar Handicap, again has the mount on Stay Hot.

Among those looking to upend the two favorites is Mondego, the 9-2 third choice on the morning line for trainer Michael McCarthy. Mondego was near the rear of the field in the Del Mar Handicap before finishing well to be beaten just 1 ¼ lengths.

“He had a lot of ground to make up and the pace was pedestrian,” McCarthy said. "He finished with a big run.

McCarthy added he isn’t sure if Mondego will receive a more favorable pace setup his time around in the John Henry.

“When I first looked at the overnight, I thought there would be more pace than there actually is,” McCarthy said. “We’ll leave it to Kazushi (Kimura) to work out a trip.”

The John Henry goes as the sixth race at approximately 3:38 p.m. The field in post position order: Rastaman Vibe, Juan Hernandez (5-1); Balladeer, Antonio Fresu (15-1); Spycatcher, Abel Lezcano (12-1); Dicey Mo Chara, Hector Berrios (10-1); Mondego, Kazushi Kimura (9-2); Stay Hot, Mike Smith (5-2); Gold Phoenix, Umberto Rispoli (3-2).

$1 SUNSET PICK 6 DEBUTS FRIDAY; $1 COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 RETURNS

Opening day of the Santa Anita Autumn Meet Friday will mark the start of a new wager for horseplayers, the $1 Sunset Pick Six, which incorporates the final three races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park.

The Sunset Pick Six features a player-friendly 15 percent takeout rate and is open to retail players only. It has no consolation payout, which means if there are no tickets with all six winners then 100% of the net pool carries over to the next time the wager is offered. To help make informed selections, 1/ST Racing and Daily Racing Form have joined forces to provide free past performances for Friday’s Sunset Pick Six. They can be accessed at https://promos.drf.com/sunset-pick6.

The Sunset Pick Six is offered every Friday through Sunday during the Autumn Meet. It will be joined on the wagering menu by the return of the $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5, which combines five select races from Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park. It also has a low 15 percent takeout and is available to retail players only.

The Sunset Pick Six on Friday kicks off at 1:05 p.m. PT with the seventh race from Gulfstream Park. The Coast to Coast starts at 1:37 p.m. with the eighth race from Gulfstream. The Coast to Coast sequence also includes the eighth and ninth races from Gulfstream and the third, fifth and seventh races from Santa Anita.

FINISH LINES: Santa Anita has a nine-race card set for opening day of the Autumn Meet Friday. First post is 1 p.m. PT. The 16-day Autumn Meet runs through Sunday, Oct. 26…Fan favorite Jay Cohen will be back on the horn bringing the horses on to the track with the ‘Call to Post’ at the Autumn Meet. Cohen has been Santa Anita’s popular hornblower since 1987…Longtime Santa Anita employee and dean of California handicappers Jeff Siegel along with veteran L.A. Times sports reporter Eric Sondheimer are the co-owners of debuting 2-year-old filly Surfin’ U.S.A. in Friday’s second race going six furlongs on turf. Installed as the 7-2 second choice on the morning line, Surfin’ U.S.A is from the first crop of 2021 Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World….Jockey Tyler Baze is now represented by agent Riley Shapiro, the son of longtime owner and former CHRB Chairman Richard Shapiro… Santa Anita track announcer Frank Mirahmadi will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Friday on Santa Anita’s simulcast feed starting at 11:50 a.m. PT.