Benoit
Desert Code cruises to victory in the Daytona Handicap
Rick Samuels
Benoit
Trainer David Hofmans, who saddled 36-1 shot Desert Code to win the inaugural Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (gr. IT), hopes to add to the success of California-based horses in the race with Home Run Kitten.
Victor Espinoza has been a model of consistency aboard California Chrome, but Belmont Park presents unique challenges during the running of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), said NYRA analyst and retired rider Richard Migliore.
Moving Desert, a 2-year-old filly by Desert Code became her sire's first winner July 17, capturing her maiden by three lengths in a five-furlong sprint over Del Mar's Polytrak.
Southern California-based trainer David Hofmans, who boasts classic wins and Breeders' Cup victories, notched career win 1,000 on Oct. 8 when Sultry Season rallied from sixth to win the 10th race at Santa Anita Park.
Desert Code, a millionaire and winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, will enter stud at John C. Harris' Harris Farms near Coalinga, Calif.
Susan Osborne's Desert Code, winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, has been retired from racing for stallion duty.
With most of the major training over for the Nov. 6-7 Breeders' Cup World Championships completed, the work tab at Santa Anita Nov. 3 was pretty light.
What could be more specialized than horses that like to sprint on the turf? Yet all manner of runners make up the 22 pre-entries in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, which drew the largest field of all 14 Breeders' Cup races.
Favored California Flag led nearly all the way to win the $100,000 Morvich Handicap (gr. IIIT) on opening day of the Oak Tree Racing Association meet at Santa Anita Park Sept. 30, earning a repeat victory in the hillside turf course event over runner-up Get Funky and a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
Fittingly featuring 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint champion Desert Code, the Sept. 30 Morvich Handicap (gr. IIIT) heads Oak Tree's 31-day season at Santa Anita, one that will be highlighted by the two-day, $25.5-million Breeders' Cup World Championships on Nov. 6 and 7.
Front-running Mr Gruff won his stakes debut in style, turning back a brief challenge in the lane to win the $100,000 San Simeon Handicap (gr. IIIT) on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita April 18.
Hillside turf course specialist Desert Code makes a quick turnaround for trainer David Hofmans as the 122-pound high weight in the $100,000 San Simeon Handicap (gr. IIIT) on Santa Anita's penultimate day for the 2008-09 racing season April 18.
Dixie Chatter slid through an opening on the rail mid-stretch and kicked clear to win the $150,000 Arcadia Handicap (gr. IIT) at Santa Anita Park April 4 for his first graded stakes win since capturing the 2007 Norfolk Stakes (gr. I).
Millionaire Desert Code, winner of both last fall's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and the Daytona Handicap (gr. IIIT) six weeks ago on the hillside turf course, will attempt to stretch out to a mile in the Arcadia Handicap (gr. IIT) at Santa Anita April 4.
If you saw Desert Code's dramatic come-from-behind win in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last fall, this victory was nothing like that one. Instead, Desert Code took the lead shortly after the start of the $100,000 Daytona Handicap (gr. IIIT) Feb. 15 on the same hillside turf course at Santa Anita and was never threatened.
Desert Code, 35-1 upset winner of the inaugural Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint last fall, makes his 5-year-old debut in the $100,000 Daytona Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Santa Anita Park Feb. 15, regardless of whether the race remains on the hillside turf course.
One of the most popular victories in this year's Breeders' Cup was the dramatic score by Richie Migliore, aboard Desert Code, in the inaugural Turf sprint. It was Migliore's first Breeders' Cup or Classic win after so many years of frustration.
It took hillside course specialist Desert Code, the longest shot on the board at odds of 36-1, to crack the inaugural $1-million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita Oct. 25.
The biggest head-scratcher of the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships could well be the inaugural running of the $1-million Turf Sprint Oct. 25.
The return of the Breeders' Cup World Championships to Santa Anita Park Oct. 24-25 will usher in a trio of races new for the event's 25th edition.
Defending champion Get Funky, seeking an assured Breeders' Cup berth, heads 12 entrants in the $100,000 Morvich Handicap as the Oak Tree Racing Association launches its 40th season at Santa Anita Sept. 24.
Hoping to earn a place among the nation's elite sprinters, the seven runners lining up for the $300,000 Triple Bend Handicap (gr. I) will all have something to prove at Hollywood Park on July 5.
The 2008 running of the $150,000 Berkeley Stakes (gr. III) went much better than last year's for McCann's Mojave, who seized the lead from favored Desert Code at the three-sixteenth pole and rolled to a driving 3 1/2-length win at Golden Gate Fields May 26.
Stakes veteran McCann's Mojave, a grade III winner on Golden Gate Fields' Tapeta Footings surface last November for trainer Steve Specht, tries to do it again in the $150,000 Berkeley Stakes (gr. III) on Memorial Day, May 26, at the Albany track.
Multiple grade II winner Surf Cat teamed with Alex Solis to win the $150,000 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (gr. II) for the second time in the past three years April 26 at Hollywood Park.
Surf Cat, winner of the 2006 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap (gr. II) for trainer Bruce Headley, will attempt to do it again on the stretch-out April 26 at Hollywood Park.
A federal bankruptcy judge has signed an order to convert the Chapter 11 business reorganization of ClassicStar LLC to Chapter 7 liquidation, paving the way for creditors to pursue whatever assets they can find linked to the former broodmare-lease operator.
Grade II winner Notional, runner-up in last year's Florida Derby (gr. I) but sidelined by a fractured ankle soon after, begins his 4-year-old campaign on Santa Anita's hillside turf course in the $75,000 Daytona Handicap Feb. 17.
Outsider Unusual Suspect found a gaping hole mid-stretch and exploited it for his first graded stakes win in the $150,000 Hollywood Turf Express Handicap (gr. IIIT) Nov. 24.
Trainer Christophe Clement hopes to get his Turf Festival weekend off to a good start at Hollywood Park on Nov. 24 when he sends the consistent Quietly Mine against nine rivals in the $150,000 Turf Express Handicap (gr. IIIT).
Jerry and Ann Moss' Tiago, guided through a narrow opening at the rail mid-stretch by jockey Mike Smith, went to victory as the even-money choice in the $368,250 Swaps Breeders' Cup (gr. II) for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Park Saturday.
Tiago, winner of the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and third in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), heads a field of six in Saturday's $350,000 Swaps Breeders' Cup Stakes (gr. II) at Hollywood Park.
Yes, there are 3-year-olds west of the Mississippi this year. Which one, or ones, will earn the right to take on the big guns back east will be decided in Saturday's $350,000 Swaps Stakes (gr. II), where Tiago will make his first start in California since winning the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).
Desert Code, beaten in photo finishes in his last two starts, left nothing to chance this time, scooting to a front-running 1 3/4-length victory under jockey Richard Migliore in Sunday's $106,600 Affirmed Handicap (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Park.
Awesome Gambler, impressive winner of his last two starts, faces his toughest challenge to date when he aims for his first graded stakes win in Sunday's $100,000 Affirmed Handicap (gr. III) at Hollywood Park.
Jockey David Flores registered his 3,000th North American win Sunday when his substitute mount Time to Get Even rallied on the outside to catch favored Principle Secret in the final couple of strides and win the $109,700 Lazaro Barrera Memorial (gr. III) by a neck at Hollywood Park.
Principle Secret, one of the country's most heralded 2-year-olds in 2006, will try to turn the tables on unbeaten Try To Fly as he makes his second 2007 start in Sunday's contentious Lazaro S. Barrera Memorial Stakes (gr. III) for 3-year-olds at Hollywood Park.
Golden Balls, an Irish-bred import whose name celebrates the soccer accomplishments of British superstar David Beckham, rallied furiously Saturday to nail odds-on favorite Desert Code in the final strides of Santa Anita's $108,300 La Puente Stakes for 3-year-olds at one mile on turf.
Tarabilla Farms' Desert Code kicked clear in the stretch after a smart rally under Richard Migliore to capture the $106,600 Baldwin Stakes (gr. IIIT) for 3-year-olds on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita Saturday.
Tarabilla Farms' Desert Code is the 117-pound highweight for the $100,000 Baldwin Stakes (gr. IIIT) at 6 1/2 furlongs on turf for 3-year-olds.
Zayat Stables' odds-on choice E Z Warrior, making his first appearance in more than six months, remained unbeaten in three starts for trainer Bob Baffert with a measured front-running victory in the $80,000 San Miguel for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita Park on Sunday.
| Trainer | David E. Hofmans |
|---|---|
| Jockey | Richard Migliore |
| Owner | Tarabilla Farms, Inc. |
| Breeder | ClassicStar |
| Desert Code View Five-Cross Pedigree | E Dubai | Mr. Prospector |
| Words of War | ||
| Chatta Code | Lost Code | |
| Chattahoochee |
| Sale / Hip | Type | Buyer | Consignor | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEESEP2005 Hip 1592 |
Yearling | Mike Ryan, agent | Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent | $150,000 |
| FTFFEB2006 Hip 43 |
Two-year-old | Niall Brennan Stables, agent | ($145,000) |
Prices in parentheses indicate a horse did not sell because it did not meet its reserve price.
| Tepin |
| Beholder |
| Songbird |
| Nyquist |
| Arrogate |
| Exaggerator |
| Dacita (CHI) |
| Rainha Da Bateria |
| Steip Amach (IRE) |
| Frosted |
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