SANTA ANITA LEADERS
(Through Thursday)
JOCKEYS / WINS
Juan Hernandez / 12
Joel Rosario / 8
Ricardo Gonzalez / 5
Flavien Prat / 5
Umberto Rispoli / 5
TRAINERS / WINS
Peter Miller / 7
Bob Baffert / 4
Philip D’Amato / 3
Eric Kruljac / 3
Mike Puype / 3
WEEKEND STAKES AT SANTA ANITA
Saturday
• $200,000 Grade III La Cañada Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 1-1/16 miles
• $100,000 Grade III Las Cienegas Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 6 furlongs (turf)
Sunday
• $75,000 Kalookan Queen Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, 6½ furlongs
DOWN THE STRETCH
• The great mare Goldikova, elected to racing’s Hall of Fame in 2017 and the first horse to win the same Breeders’ Cup race three times (Mile in 2008-10), died Wednesday at age 16. She won 14 Grade I races during her career, beating the males numerous times. European jockey Olivier Peslier, who rode Goldikova in all 27 of her career races, told the Racing Post: “She was one of the great international champions, and to win 14 Group 1 (races) is extremely rare. To have owners who kept her in training for the sport, when most good horses get retired, we were lucky that the Wertheimer brothers chose to enjoy her for so long on the track.”
• Mucho Gusto, fourth in the opening-day San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita in a race that his connections hoped would set him up for starts in perhaps the Pegasus World Cup and Saudi Cup, has been retired because of a soft-tissue injury. Trainer Bob Baffert told the Thoroughbred Daily News that the injury cropped up Tuesday and that no breeding deal had been finalized. “We are disappointed because he was a barn favorite,” Baffert said. “He ran in some exciting races, and winning the (2020) Pegasus was incredible. Turning for home, he looked like he was going to win the Saudi Cup.” Mucho Gusto, a 5-year-old son of Mucho Macho Man, won six of 13 career starts for earnings of more than $3.9 million.
• Baffert is not the only local trainer with a recognizable longtime assistant like Jimmy Barnes. Leandro Mora has been with Doug O’Neill for close to 20 years and has served as a valuable member of the team. “A top assistant is so hard to come by,” O’Neill said in an e-mail. “There are so many moving parts running a stable … a top assistant is priceless in helping keep your equine athletes and the hard-working men and women on your team on the same page. I’m super grateful to Leandro for being like a brother to me.”
— Art Wilson
