Horse racing notes: Mrs. Astor entered vs. males in Santa Anita finale ...Middle East

SANTA ANITA LEADERS

(Through Sunday)

Jockeys / Wins

Antonio Fresu / 31

Juan Hernandez / 25

Hector Berrios / 21

Armando Ayuso / 20

Umberto Rispoli / 16

Trainers / Wins

Phil D’Amato / 22

John Sadler / 16

Steve Knapp / 14

Bob Baffert / 12

Mark Glatt / 10

UPCOMING STAKES

SANTA ANITA

Saturday

• $100,000, Grade III Daytona Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, about 6½ furlongs on turf

• $100,000 Possibly Perfect Stakes, fillies and mares, 3 and up, 1¼ miles on turf

Sunday

• $100,000, Grade III San Juan Capistrano Stakes, 3 and up, about 1¾ miles on turf

LOS ALAMITOS

Saturday

• $75,000, Grade III Abigail Kawananakoa Handicap, quarter-horse fillies and mares, 3 and up, 350 yards

Sunday

• $900,000, Grade I Ed Burke Futurity, 2-year-old quarter horses, 350 yards

DOWN THE STRETCH

• The San Juan Capistrano Stakes, Santa Anita’s distinctive closing-day feature, drew eight horses trying the about-1¾-mile trip on turf for the first time. The sharp 5-year-old mare Mrs. Astor (Umberto Rispoli riding) is the best of three trained by Jonathan Thomas, who also entered the 4-year-old gelding Time Song (Hector Berrios) and 4-year-old filly For Arrogate (Drayden Van Dyke). The improving 4-year-old gelding Nitty (Armando Ayuso) jumps in class and distance for Leonard Powell.

• Saturday’s deep Daytona Stakes marks the return of Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint runner-up and Joe Hernandez Stakes winner Motorious (Antonio Fresu) for trainer Phil D’Amato. He faces fellow graded-stakes winners Bran (Rispoli), Air Force Red (Ayuso), Goliad (Mike Smith), Stay Hot (Juan Hernandez) and Watsonville (Kazushi Kimura). For Saturday’s Possibly Perfect, Mrs. Astor (Rispoli) was entered and will be tough if Thomas chooses that fillies-and-mares race over the San Juan Capistrano.

• Fresu led Hernandez, 31 wins to 25, going into the Thursday-through-Sunday final week of Santa Anita’s Hollywood Meet as the 34-year-old Italian seeks to end Hernandez’s string of seven Santa Anita winter-spring and fall meet jockey titles dating to 2022-23. D’Amato led John Sadler, 22-16, as he closes in on his sixth Santa Anita trainer title in 12 meets since 2021.

• Doug O’Neill, who trained Raging Torrent to victory over Fierceness in the Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday at Saratoga, went into Thursday’s races three wins from becoming the 24th North American trainer with 3,000. O’Neill has 12 horses entered Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita as he tries to reach the milestone at his home track.

• Sovereignty’s victory over Journalism in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday was fast as well as eye-catching. His Beyer speed figure of 109 for covering 1¼ miles in 2:00.69 is the highest by a 3-year-old in 2025, topping Journalism’s 108 in winning the March 1 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, and matches the highest by any horse this year, including Locked in winning the March 1 Santa Anita Handicap.

• The fourth race at Santa Anita on Saturday will be named “In Memory of Prof. Gordon Jones,” honoring the popular Los Angeles Herald Examiner handicapper and author who died April 18 at age 95.

• The filly Shiny New (Ruben Lozano) and the gelding Vyper (Cruz Mendez) are the fastest qualifiers for Sunday’s Ed Burke Futurity for quarter horses at Los Alamitos.

— Kevin Modesti

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