River Boyne Much the Best in Rainbow Stakes
With a short field and a challenger who figured to have a clear lead in the $100,000 Rainbow Stakes June 16 at Santa Anita Park, jockey Flavien Prat had his hands full with heavy favorite River Boyne.
Keyword: Flavien Prat
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Hoppertunity Rallies to Victory in Brooklyn
Returning to Belmont for the first time since his 2016 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) victory, Hoppertunity powered past rivals in the sandy stretch to register a 2 1/4-length victory in the $400,000 Brooklyn Invitational Stakes (G2) June 9.
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Hoppertunity 'in His Own Little Groove' for Brooklyn
"If he's good enough, he's good enough, and if he's not, he goes out and does it again the next time," Bill Betz said of Hoppertunity, who will run in the June 9 Brooklyn Stakes (G2).
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Unique Bella Scores Second Grade 1 in Beholder Mile
In her first start since a messy beginning that led to a runner-up finish in the Apple Blossom (G1), the imposing gray filly broke like a rocket, raced just off Paradise Woods, pressed in the backstretch, and put her rival away in the final turn.
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Kanthaka Gets the Trip, Victory in Lazaro Barrera
A picture-perfect ride from jockey Flavien Prat in the $100,000 Lazaro Barrera Stakes (G3) May 12 at Santa Anita Park led to Kanthaka's second graded victory.
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Hoppertunity Dominant in Tokyo City Cup
Even though he only took command of the race officially as he entered the third and final turn of the 1 1/2-mile dirt test, the 7-year-old son of Any Given Saturday never looked in danger of losing April 8 at Santa Anita Park.
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Om Back to Winning Ways in Thunder Road
It was a long time coming for K.B. Sareen's Om, but he finally found his way back into the winner's circle Feb. 10 at Santa Anita Park.
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Kanthaka Charges Home to Take San Vicente
West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka got a hot pace to close into and powered away late to win the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
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Lombo Speeds to Victory in Robert B. Lewis
Michael Lombardi's Lombo used his sprinter's speed to get to the front and kept going all the way to the wire to pick up 10 Road to the Kentucky Derby points in the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) Feb. 3 at Santa Anita Park.
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Calculator Speeds to Victory in Clockers' Corner Stakes
Richard Pell's Calculator has run in all kinds of races, but it's become apparent that he does his best work on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita Park.
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Purton Claims International Jockeys Championship
Zac Purton, representing Hong Kong, claimed the Longines International Jockeys Championship title for the first time courtesy of two wins in the first and third legs of the series.
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Prat Set for International Jockeys' Championship
At Happy Valley Dec. 6, Flavien Prat will represent the United States while jockey Hugh Bowman will be out to defend his title after his victory in last year's Longines International Jockeys Championship.
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Hunt Holds On to Win Seabiscuit Handicap
Michael House's Hunt (IRE) may have been overmatched in his last two assignments, but returned to his winning form Nov. 26 in the $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at Del Mar.
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Battle of Midway Breaks Through in BC Dirt Mile
WinStar Farm and Don Alberto Stable's Battle of Midway put a head in front of Sharp Azteca early on in the stretch run of the $1 million Las Vegas Dirt Mile (G1) and appeared to have all the momentum in his favor.
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Lull Makes the Grade in Autumn Miss
Claiborne Farm and Adel Dilschneider's Lull got a perfect trip and capitalized for her first graded stakes win Oct. 29 in the $100,000 Autumn Miss Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park.
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Run Away Wins Unconventionally in Barretts Juvenile
When asked how he felt aboard Kaleem Shah's heavily favored Run Away in the turn of the $100,000 Barretts Juvenile Sept. 23 at Los Alamitos Race Course, jockey Flavien Prat didn't get out a word as much as he let out a sound.
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Del Mar's Summer Meet Sees Drop in Equine Fatalities
Del Mar's annual summer meeting came to a close Sept. 4 and the most crucial issue facing the seaside racetrack saw a marked improvement.
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St Patrick's Day Breaks Maiden, FrontRunner Next
After a 1 1/2-length second to Zatter in his debut, St Patrick's Day was pressed on the lead again Sept. 2 and he gamely held on to break his maiden at Del Mar.
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Moonshine Memories Speeds to Del Mar Debutante Win
After a one-length debut win Aug. 19, the Malibu Moon filly once again sped to the lead in the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante (G1) Sept. 2 and prevailed by a half-length over longshot Piedi Bianchi in a final time of 1:23.61.
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Battle of Midway Cruises to Shared Belief Stakes Win
Free of trouble and with an ideal stalking trip, Don Alberto Stable and WinStar Farm's Battle of Midway thrived by the beach at Del Mar in the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes Aug. 26.
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Zatter Defeats American Pharoah's Full Brother in Debut
The Bob Baffert-trained stablemates went at it on the front end, but it was Zatter who got the best of St Patrick's Day Aug. 20 at Del Mar.
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Run Away Dominant in Best Pal Stakes
Without any asking from his jockey, the Simon Callaghan-trained Run Away breezed by the early leader to take command, and by the top of the stretch, the race was all but decided.
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Curlin Road Wears Down Hard Aces in Cougar II
R3 Racing, Calara Farms, and ERJ Racing's Curlin Road certainly had to work for his first graded victory in the $100,000 Cougar II Handicap (G3) July 26 at Del Mar.
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Hunt Overcomes Trouble to Win Eddie Read
Michael House's Hunt provided a moment of drama in the stretch, but even a blocked-off trip wasn't enough to prevent the Dark Angel gelding from winning his first graded race.
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American Gal Impresses in Victory Ride
After favored runs in two grade 1 races on her home soil in Southern California, Kaleem Shah's homebred American Gal broke through for her first graded win on the opposite coast July 9 with a determined victory in the Victory Ride Stakes (G3).
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Enola Gray Speeds to Wilshire Win
A five-time California-bred stakes winner before her start in the $100,000 Wilshire Stakes (G3T), Nick Alexander's Enola Gray had yet to beat open-company stakes competition in three tries, but she cleared that hurdle impressively July 1.
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Battle of Midway Cruises to Affirmed Victory
Battle of Midway's connections were looking for a Betfair.com Haskell Invitational (G1) prep June 24 in the $100,000 Affirmed Stakes (G3), and they accomplished their mission at Santa Anita Park.
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Ransom the Moon Steps Up in Kona Gold
Ransom the Moon stepped up in class May 20 when he took the $200,000 Kona Gold Stakes (G2) by 2 1/4 lengths in his first stakes attempt.
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Battle of Midway Logs Final Work for Kentucky Derby
WinStar Farm and Don Alberto Stable's Battle of Midway put in his final timed workout April 28 at Santa Anita Park in preparation for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1). He covered six furlongs in 1:13 2/5.
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Paradise Woods Records Final Work for Kentucky Oaks
Richard Mandella has a certain giddiness about him when one of his good horses is going well. Not so long ago, after Beholder's morning breezes, he had a frequent pep to his step. In the Santa Anita grandstand April 27, the excitement was back.
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Gormley Works Smartly at Santa Anita
The clocker's stopwatch at the top of the Santa Anita Park grandstand may have shown 1:15 4/5 for Gormley's six-furlong workout April 22, but the slow time doesn't tell the whole story.
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Paradise Woods Has Penultimate Oaks Move
"Beautiful" is how Mandella described the April 21 work of Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) contender Paradise Woods, who went four furlongs in :47 3/5 Friday at Santa Anita Park in her penultimate exercise for the May 5 test.
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Iliad Records Final Santa Anita Derby Workout
In an instant following the San Felipe Stakes (G2), Iliad went from a fringe Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) contender in the shadow of Mastery to the likely favorite in the April 8 Santa Anita Derby (G1).
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Illuminant Takes Wishing Well, Jenny Wiley Next
Grade 1 winner Illuminant was impressive enough off a 10-month layoff in the $75,000 Wishing Well Stakes at Santa Anita Park, but she has bigger and better things ahead of her.
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Wild At Heart Makes Short Work of Buena Vista
The 5-year-old Indian Charlie mare made short work of a short field in an off-the-turf edition of the $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes (G3T), closing from third and striding away to a 3 1/2-length victory.
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Iliad Shines in San Vicente Score
Trainer Doug O'Neill used the 2016 San Vicente Stakes (G2) to launch Nyquist's 3-year-old campaign toward the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and could have another Triple Crown contender after the 2017 edition.
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Isotherm Jumps Up in San Marcos
Matthew Schera's Isotherm hadn't found the winner's circle since September of 2015, but on a red-hot afternoon for jockey Flavien Prat at Santa Anita Park, he was under the right man for the job.
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Hoppertunity Grinds Out Another San Antonio Score
Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman's Hoppertunity grinded out his second straight victory in the San Antonio Stakes (G2) Feb. 4 and pushed his earnings to more than $4 million with the victory.
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Ashleyluvssugar Scores in Cal Cup Turf Classic
Ashleyluvssugar got his 2017 season off on the right foot, but he certainly had to earn it. A likely prep for bigger and better things in the $250,000 California Cup Turf Classic Jan. 28 at Santa Anita Park turned into a dogfight in the stretch.
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Vale Dori Rolls Home in La Canada
Vale Dori took heat early and kept on rolling in the $200,000 La Canada Stakes (G2) Jan. 14 at Santa Anita Park, impressively picking up her second consecutive grade 2 and third straight victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
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Conquest Enforcer Strikes for New Connections
Loooch Racing Stables, Imaginary Stables, and Raquel Ritchie realized a quick return on investment with recently purchased Conquest Enforcer as he led to win Santa Anita Park's last race Dec. 26, the $200,000 Mathis Brother Mile Stakes (gr. IIT).
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Veteran Obviously Scores in Turf Sprint
A two-time grade I winner at a mile, Obviously cut back a bit in distance to take the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT) Nov. 5 at Santa Anita Park.
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Vyjack Sets Course Record in City of Hope
Pick Six Racing's Vyjack knocked off Wise Dan as the fastest turf miler in Santa Anita's history Oct. 8 with a record-setting performance in the $200,000 City of Hope Mile (gr. IIT).
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Lord Nelson Strikes Again at Santa Anita
Spendthrift Farm's Lord Nelson continued his dominance in Southern California sprints Oct. 8 with a clear score in the $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (gr. I), his final prep for the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I).
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Jim Rome Remembers Shared Belief
Jim Rome thought he would eventually start to get over losing Shared Belief. The horse owner and syndicated sports talk radio star thought time would help.
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Lord Nelson Untouchable in Bing Crosby
Spendthrift Farm's Lord Nelson got a perfect trip and made the best of it July 31 to collect his second straight grade I score in the $300,000 Bing Crosby at Del Mar.
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Brazilian Champ Juno Pointing to Del Mar
Richard Mandella would have run Team Valor International's Juno (Brz) on the Santa Anita Park turf in her first U.S. start if the Southern California track hadn't ripped up the grass course earlier in June.
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Illuminant Upsets Wekeela in Gamely Stakes
Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners' Illuminant got the jump on heavily favored Wekeela on the far turn and pulled away to win the $300,000 Gamely Stakes (gr. IT) May 30 at Santa Anita Park.
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Enola Gray Passes Two-Turn Test in Melair
Stepping up into stakes competition off a standout debut score, Nick Alexander's homebred Enola Gray didn't disappoint in the $200,000 Melair Stakes May 28 at Santa Anita Park.
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Jolley, Vasquez Back at Keeneland
Apparently Hall of Fame trainer LeRoy Jolley is not the retiring type.
