Horse racing: Santa Anita leaders, notes

SANTA ANITA LEADERS

Through Saturday, June 15

JOCKEYS / WINS

Flavien Prat / 27

Rafael Bejarano / 21

Joe Talamo / 20

Tiago Pereira / 19

Ruben Fuentes / 17

TRAINERS / WINS

Doug O’Neill / 22

Richard Baltas / 17

Mark Glatt / 16

Philip D’Amato / 14

John Sadler / 14

WEEKEND STAKES SCHEDULE (SANTA ANITA)

Saturday

• $200,000 Snow Chief Stakes, 3-year-olds bred in California, 1-1/8 miles (turf)

• $100,000 Grade III Wilshire Stakes, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, 1 mile (turf)

• $100,000 Dream of Summer Stakes, fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up bred in California, 1 mile

Sunday

• $200,000 Melair Stakes, 3-year-old fillies bred in California, 1-1/16 miles

• $100,000 Grade III San Juan Capistrano Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, about 1-3/4 miles (turf)

• $100,000 Grade III American Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 1 mile (turf)

• $75,000 Siren Lure Stakes, 3-year-olds and up, 5 furlongs (turf)

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Trainer Bob Baffert is targeting Game Winner for the Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga off his fifth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. “I don’t know if I’ll go in there fresh or maybe run in the Los Al Derby (July 13),” Baffert said. “I did that with West Coast (2017 Travers winner). He’s doing really well right now. I couldn’t be happier with him.” Baffert said he’s looking to run Affirmed Stakes winner Mucho Gusto in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 20. “He was ready to roll (in the Affirmed),” he said. “He ran really well over this (Santa Anita) deep race track. This track is so deep. It’s tough on them.”

• The second installment of the Breeders’ Cup Classic Top 10 was released on Tuesday. McKinzie tops the rankings with 14 first-place votes and 263 points, followed by Thunder Snow (nine first-place votes and 238 points), Stephen Foster Stakes winner Seeking the Soul (165), Catholic Boy (3 and 150), Vino Rosso (2 and 145), Gift Box (113), Omaha Beach (78), Gunnevera (70), Quip (62) and War of Will (58). Baffert says he might run McKinzie, second in the Met Mile at Belmont Park, in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 17. “I wish he would have had a better trip in the Met Mile,” Baffert said. “He’ll run there or the Whitney (Aug. 3).”

• A field of eight was entered for Sunday’s closing-day $100,000 Grade III San Juan Capistrano Stakes at Santa Anita. The 1-3/4-mile grass marathon is one of four stakes races on the 10-race closing-day card, which will also include the $200,000 Melair Stakes for 3-year-old Cal-bred fillies on the turf, the $100,000 Grade III American Stakes and the $75,000 Siren Lure Stakes. The Eric Kruljac-trained Causeforcommotion, a nine-length winner of the Grade III Santa Barbara Stakes as the 6-5 favorite on May 11, figures to go postward as the favorite in the San Juan. He’ll be ridden by Geovanni Franco.

— Art Wilson

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