Stilleto Boy wins Santa Anita Handicap for Ed Moger Jr.
Ed Moger Jr. has been a coach for greater than 4 many years, and his horses have gained a variety of races, however none greater than Saturday’s Grade 1 $500,000 Santa Anita Handicap. Stilleto Boy ran down the favourite Defunded and held off a charging Proxy to win by a neck.
“Probably of all the races in California, this one is a bigger race than the Pacific Classic [at Del Mar],” Moger stated. “It’s like the Kentucky Derby of California.”
The horse was purchased by Moger’s brother, Steve, for $420,000. Steve didn’t search his brother’s recommendation when making the acquisition.
“I would have told him it was too much,” Moger stated. “Turns out to be a good move. We’ve only won two races with him but we’ve had a blast. It feels like we’ve won 100 races.”
Stilleto Boy paid $29.80 to win. Proxy was adopted by Defunded, Hopper, There Goes Harvard, Tisquantum, Newgrange, Warrant and Heywoods Beach.
Moger thinks the 5-year-old’s subsequent race might be the Oaklawn Handicap or presumably the Metropolitan Mile.
The win was additionally half redemption for Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, who was allowed to run this assembly at Santa Anita after a sequence of incidents that landed him a ban and suspension from the California Horse Racing Board. He has admitted having an issue with alcohol all through his profession.
“For me, after my life of off-the-race-track debacles, it shows that I’ve come full circle and we can put that to bed and I can continue with my career,” Desormeaux stated. “It’s going to be up to me to stay clean.”
It was Desormeaux’s third win within the Big ‘Cap, with previous victories in 2002 (Milwaukee Brew) and 1992 (Best Pal).
In other graded stakes races, Gold Phoenix ($23.60) bulled his way between horses and outkicked Du Jour to win the Grade 1 $500,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on the turf by a neck. Winning trainer Phil D’Amato gave a variety of credit score to jockey Kazushi Kimura, who’s new to the Santa Anita jockey colony.
“This kid has ridden two horses for me now and both wins,” D’Amato stated of Kimura, 23. He saved each inch of floor, waited, break up horses and did the whole lot I informed him. … I can’t say sufficient in regards to the nice journey.”
Quattroelle ($8.60) gained the Grade 2 $200,000 Buena Vista Stakes for older fillies and mares, going a mile on the turf. The 5-year-old mare made a robust transfer deep within the stretch to win by half a size for coach Jeff Mullins and jockey Hector Barrios.