SANTA ANITA PICKS

ARCADIA, CA — Casalu, graded-stakes placed on both turf and dirt, will switch back to the main track Friday in the $85,000 Anoakia Stakes for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs at Santa Anita.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Casalu won her debut sprinting on dirt at Del Mar in July and came back to be third in the GIII Sorrento going six furlongs on dirt in August, also at Del Mar.

 Subsequently switched to turf, the Caracaro filly was fourth in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf and then second behind well regarded Thought Process in the GIII Surfer Girl at Santa Anita Oct. 6. A $775,000 auction buy earlier this year, Casalu is owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. She will be ridden by Martin Garcia for the first time.

Baffert also entered promising debut winners Silent Law and Mawu.

Silent Law, by Tiz the Law, romped by 10 lengths in her unveiling going five furlongs at Los Alamitos Sept. 21. The effort earned a field-high 84 Beyer Speed Figure.

A $400,000 auction buy for owners CSLR Racing Partners, Silent Law will have Santa Anita leading rider Juan Hernandez in the irons.

Mawu won her debut going six furlongs by 3 ¼ lengths Oct. 6 at Santa Anita. The daughter of Blame, a $500,000 auction buy, is owned by Baoma Corp. Antonio Fresu was aboard for her unveiling, but Mawu will have the services of Mike Smith on Friday.

As for Fresu, he moves over to Practical Dream, a gate-to-wire debut winner for trainer Tim Yakteen going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar Sept. 8. By Practical Joke, the $210,000 auction buy is owned by Leslie Amestoy, Jean Pierre Amestoy and Roger K. Beasley.

Rounding out the field is Proud Starlet, also trained by Yakteen. The Mendlessohn filly won her debut going 5 ½ furlongs at Del Mar July 27. She returned in the GI Del Mar Debutante going seven furlongs and faded to sixth after flashing early speed. Proud Starlet will be ridden by Umberto Rispoli, who was also aboard in the Debutante.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20

WORKS: NEWGATE AMONG BREEDERS’ CUP PROSPECT ON TAB

 A busy Sunday morning at Santa Anita included more than a dozen prospects for the Breeders’ Cup registering timed workouts.

Trainer Bob Baffert worked Newgate (Classic), Citizen Bull (Juvenile), Gaming (Juvenile), Fort Bragg (Sprint or Dirt Mile), Muth (Dirt Mile) and Non Compliant (Juvenile Fillies).

Newgate, most recently third in the GI California Crown, earned a bullet when drilling five furlongs in 59.20 seconds. It was the fastest of 51 works at the distance. Citizen Bull, winner of the GI American Pharoah, went five furlongs in 59.80 seconds. Gaming, the GI Del Mar Futurity winner, worked six furlongs from the gate in 1:12.40.

Fort Bragg, most recently fourth in the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship, worked five furlongs from the gate in 59.80 seconds. Muth, who was last in the California Crown, also went five furlongs in 59.80 seconds. Non Compliant, the GII Oak Leaf winner, completed her five-furlong drill also in 59.80 seconds.

Trainer Phil D’Amato worked Gold Phoenix (Turf), Hang the Moon (Filly & Mare Turf) and Motorious (Turf Sprint), all on the synthetic training track. Grade I winner Gold Phoenix, most recently fifth in the GII John Henry, worked five furlongs in 1:00.20. Hang the Moon, upset winner of the GII Rodeo Drive, clocked four furlongs in 49.40 seconds. Motorious, winner of the GIII Green Flash at Del Mar on Aug. 31, fired a bullet when going five furlongs in 59.0 seconds.

Trainer Doug O’Neill worked Mixto (Classic), Katonah (Dirt Mile) and Pali Kitten (Juvenile Turf Sprint). Mixto, winner of the GI Pacific Classic, worked five furlongs from the gate in 1:01.20. Katonah, fourth in the California Crown, went five furlongs from the gate in 1:01.40. Pali Kitten, winner of the Speakeasy Oct. 5 at Santa Anita, worked three furlongs in 39.0 seconds.

Trainer John Sadler worked Dirt Mile prospect Full Serrano. Runner-up in the Pacific Classic, the South American import earned a bullet when completing six furlongs in 1:11.80.

$36K CARRYOVER IN SUNDAY’S PICK 6 STARTING AT 2 P.M. PT

 After there were no winning tickets in Saturday’s $2 Pick Six, Sunday’s Pick Six pool will start with a carryover of $36,681.65. The Pick Six will begin with the third race at approximately 2 p.m. PT.

Track officials estimate Sunday’s entire Pick Six pool will approach $500,000. It’s a competitive sequence. Prior to scratches, the average field size is 9.8 starters per race.

In Saturday’s Pick Six, there were two winning favorites and three winners that returned double-digit payouts. The biggest upset came in the opening leg when Tim Yakteen-trained Chilly Philly scored as the longest shot on the board under apprentice Serafin Carmona and paid $37.20.

The consolation payout Saturday for tickets with 5-of-6 winners was $2,015.40. The winning horses in Saturday’s Pick Six beginning with the fourth race were #4 Chilly Philly ($37.20), #2 Joint Venture ($3.80), #1 Caribbean King ($7.40), #5 My Kathryn Rose ($8.60), #4 Sumter ($10.80), #2 Musical Number ($14.00).

Below is a quick overview of Sunday’s Pick 6 sequence: 3rd race: This is a $50,000 Maiden Claiming race at 5 ½ furlongs on dirt. The two key principals are 8-5 program favorite Big Gain for Peter Miller with Antonio Fresu up, and 5-2 second choice Last Call Paul for Steve Knapp. While Last Call Paul is 0-for-16 with seven runner-up finishes, the 3-year-old gelding has lured the services of Santa Anita leading rider Juan Hernandez for the first time.

4th race: A field of nine is signed on for this $50,000 Maiden/Optional Claimer at 6 ½ furlongs on the flat turf course. Forty Niner Gold, ridden by Tyler Baze for trainer John Sadler, is the 2-1 morning line favorite.

5th race: A wide-open field of nine 2-year-olds, including seven first-time starters, are entered in this $62,500 Maiden/Optional Claimer going six furlongs on dirt. The 5-2 program favorite is first-time starter Irish Rebel, a Liam’s Map colt trained by Ryan Hanson and ridden by Tyler Baze.

6th race: This $25,000 claimer going a mile on turf has a field of 12 led by tepid 5-2 program favorite Lil Richards Bello, who will be ridden by Hernandez for trainer Peter Eurton.

7th race: This is a first-level allowance/optional claimer for statebreds at a mile on dirt. In a field of nine, Stop Digging with Hernandez up for trainer Simon Callaghan is the 5-2 program favorite.

8th race: The anchor legs is a straight maiden race for 2-year-old fillies going 6 ½ furlongs on the flat turf course. This race features the shortest-priced program favorite in the sequence, Margarita Girl, who is listed at 6-5. The daughter of Twirling Candy will have Fresu up for trainer Mark Glatt. In her debut going six furlongs on dirt Aug. 31 at Del Mar, Margarita Girl finished second by 1 ½ lengths to winner Non Compliant, who came back to win the GII Oak Leaf and is targeting the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies for Bob Baffert.

MAIDEN WINNER ACCURACY STRUTS STUFF FOR MCCARTHY/REPOLE

It was a sensational start to Saturday’s card at Santa Anita for trainer Michael McCarthy, prominent New York-based owner Mike Repole and jockey Umberto Rispoli.

Not only did the trio sweep the early Daily Double, the winner of the first race—Accuracy—did so in a sensational performance. A 3-year-old Arrogate filly, Accuracy ran off to a 15-length, gate-to-wire victory under Rispoli going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. After breaking in front, she led by two lengths through six furlongs in 1:10.82, extended her lead to 10 lengths at the stretch call and continued to pour it on to win in a sharp final time of 1:42.44.

As of Sunday morning, a Beyer Speed Figure for the performance had not yet been released.

The win came in Accuracy’s third start and second around two turns. Purchased for $275,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale, Accuracy debuted going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 3. She rallied to be third, beaten 2 ¼ lengths by subsequent GIII Chillingworth winner One Magic Philly, who is a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

Stretched to a mile for start No. 2, Accuracy had a bit of trouble on the first turn while racing up close to the pace. She ultimately would finish third behind a pair of next-out winners trained by Bob Baffert, the highly regarded Cavalieri and Seismic Beauty.

Following Accuracy’s eye-opening victory in the opener, McCarthy, Repole and Rispoli also teamed to win the second race with favorite Fearless Soldier. The 4-year-old City of Light colt scored in an allowance/optional claimer at 1 ¼ miles on turf. Fearless Soldier, who was co-owned by Gainesway Stable and St. Elias Stable, was entered for the $50,000 optional-claiming price and subsequently red-tagged by trainer Anthony Saavedra.

The McCarthy/Repole/Rispoli double returned $19.80 for $2.

FINISH LINES:

 Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:30 p.m. PT with the second race from Santa Anita. The Coast to Coast features a player friendly 15 percent takeout rate. Saturday’s Coast to Coast paid a cool $18,055.80 for three winning tickets..Jockey Umberto Rispoli swept Saturday’s early double and is now just one win behind Juan Hernandez in the jockey’s standings…The Santa Anita Autumn Meet closes with a three-day race week starting Friday. The closing day card on Sunday will feature mandatory payouts in all pools…The deadline to pre-enter the Breeders’ Cup is Monday at 12 p.m. PT. The pre-entered fields will be announced Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT and aired on FanDuel TV and on the Breeders’ Cup website, official mobile app, Facebook, X and Youtube channels…Next week Santa Anita will host the GII Twilight Derby on Saturday and the GIII Autumn Miss on Sunday…The Twilight Derby is at 1 1/8 miles on turf and the Autumm Miss is for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on turf…