Spectacular Bid: ‘Greatest Horse to Look Through a Bridle’
Newgrange will face many of the horses he beat in recent stakes wins as likely favorite in the 2024 Santa Anita Handicap. (Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire)
The $400,000, Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel, which was rescheduled from Saturday, March 2, to Sunday, March 3, is an important early-season test at Santa Anita Park for older horses.
The 1 ¼-mile “Big ’Cap” is one of the most prestigious races in California and has a long, storied history dating back to when it was first held in 1935, with winners including Seabiscuit, Round Table, Hill Rise, Nodouble, Ack Ack, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, John Henry (twice), Alysheba, Best Pal, Tiznow, Lava Man (twice), Game On Dude (three times), Shared Belief, and Accelerate. Last year’s winner was Stilleto Boy.
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This year’s race will be televised on FanDuel TV and has a scheduled post time of 7 p.m. ET. Read on for information on all seven Big ’Cap starters for 2024.
Reincarnate. (Alex Evers/Eclipse Sportswire)
1. Reincarnate (8-1 morning-line odds)
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, et al.
Career record: 11 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $436,150
Earnings per start: $39,650
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105
Pedigree: Good Magic – Allanah, by Scat Daddy
Age: 4
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Speed/presser/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: At his best, Reincarnate is a multiple stakes winner of such races as the Grade 3 2023 Sham Stakes, in which he beat Newgate, and the $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby. In tougher and more recent spots, however, the results were not as pretty for Reincarnate. He finished sixth in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and then ninth on turf in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby in his most recent outing Nov. 4. Trainer Bob Baffert owns five career wins in the Santa Anita Derby with General Challenge (2000), Misremembered (2010), and Game On Dude (2011, 2013, and 2014). While Reincarnate’s barn mate Newgate comes into this race with the better current form of the two, Reincarnate will form one-half of a potentially dangerous uncoupled Baffert one-two punch.
Highland Falls. (Coady Photography)
2. Highland Falls (3-1)
Jockey: Florent Geroux
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owners: Godolphin
Career record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $158,660
Earnings per start: $39,665
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107
Pedigree: Curlin – Round Pond, by Awesome Again
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Highland Falls is aking his stakes debut after winning three of only four lifetime starts to date, including back-to-back allowance wins at Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds for trainer Brad Cox, who will be trying for his first career Big ’Cap win. He steps up in class to stakes company after beating seven horses going 1 1/16 miles last time out by three-quarters of a length as the 1-2 favorite. He has never been as far as this 1 ¼-mile distance but is loaded with potential as a lightly raced horse by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin out of 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Round Pond from top-notch connections in good recent form.
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3. Mixto (6-1)
Jockey: Antonio Fresu
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Owners: Calumet Farm
Career record: 9 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $128,180
Earnings per start: $14,242
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105
Pedigree: Good Magic – Musical Mystery, by Concerto
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Presser/stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Mixto has come a long way in a short amount of time, going from a maiden winner in his seventh career start in November at Del Mar to stakes placed in both of his last two races in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes and the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes when only beaten by 2 ¼ lengths and 1 ¾ lengths, respectively, by Newgrange in those races. He pressed the pace set by Newgrange in the San Pasqual but was kept out of an all-in battle for the lead. His best chance in the Santa Anita Handicap will be if another speed horse in the race does the dirty work and allows Mixto to stalk more comfortably off a contested pace. Trainer Doug O’Neill has won the Big ’Cap twice in 2006 and 2007 with Lava Man. Calumet Farm won the race all the way back in 1953 with Mark-Ye-Well when the farm was under different ownership.
Salesman. (Bill Denver.)
4. Salesman (6-1)
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Trainer: Richard Mandella
Owners: Alain and Gerard Wertheimer
Career record: 26 starts – 4 wins – 6 seconds – 5 thirds
Career earnings: $335,300
Earnings per start: $12,896
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Pedigree: Dubawi – High Maintenance, by Highest Honor
Age: 7
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker (front-running winner last time)
Notable achievements and interesting facts: It’s hard to teach an old horse new tricks, but Salesman is an exception as a 7-year-old lifelong turf runner who has found new life on the dirt in his last two races. Salesman switched to the main track for the first time two races ago and finished third, a nose out of second, in last summer’s 1 1/16-mile, $75,000 Los Alamitos Special Stakes. He then won the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes last time out in November going 1 5/8 miles on the dirt right here at Santa Anita. That win was on the Breeders’ Cup undercard and therefore could still be fresh in the minds of handicappers based on Salesman’s 8 ¼-length margin of victory. The other interesting part of Salesman’s last-out win was that this usual late runner went to the front that day and led wire-to-wire. It’s difficult to know how to evaluate that last race at the extended 1 5/8-mile distance when he beat only four rivals when comparing Salesman with the Santa Anita Handicap field. Salesman will be cutting back in distance while the others will be stretching out. Hall of fame trainer Richard Mandella is hard discount in any quality SoCal spot, and the Santa Anita Handicap will be no exception. He will be seeking his fourth career Big ’Cap victory having previously won with Siphon (1997), Malek (1998), and Rock Hard Ten (2005).
Newgate. (Kasey Phillips/Eclipse Sportswire)
5. Newgate (4-1)
Jockey: Frankie Dettori
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 4 seconds – 0 thirds
Career earnings: $295,775
Earnings per start: $36,972
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109
Pedigree: Into Mischief – Majestic Presence, by Majestic Warrior
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Showed a lot of promise as a 3-year-old early in 2023 and now has come back off a long layoff looking better than ever as a 4-year-old. Trainer Bob Baffert had this horse on the Triple Crown trail last year with a second-place finish in the 2023 Sham Stakes and a win in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes before an injury derailed him for the rest of the year. Newgate returned to action after an 11-month layoff with a runner-up finish in his Jan. 6 allowance-optional claiming comeback race, in which he earned a career-high 109 Equibase speed figure at 6 ½ furlongs. He then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles last time in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes and finished second by a length to Newgrange, who he will face again in this race. He may be sitting on a big effort here in his third race of the current form cycle. Baffert has won the Big ’Cap five times dating back to 2000, most recently with three-time Santa Anita Handicap winner Game On Dude in 2014.
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6. Subsanador (5-1)
Jockey: Hector Berrios
Trainer: John Sadler
Owners: Stud Fucundito
Career record: 13 starts – 7 wins – 1 second – 1 third
Career earnings: $161,124
Earnings per start: $12,394
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101
Pedigree: Fortify – Save the Date, by Hurricane Cat
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This recent South American import has run once since arriving in the U.S., and the result was a fourth-place finish as the 13-10 favorite behind Newgrange and Mixto in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes here at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. That outing came after a five-month layoff, and the Argentine champion certainly could improve a lot here in his second local start. Those taking an optimistic opinion will note that Subsanador’s trainer, John Sadler, won three editions of the Santa Anita Handicap in a row with three different horses — Accelerate, Gift Box, and Combatant — between 2018 and 2020. He should go off at an attractive price on the tote board and you could do a lot worse if you are looking for a longshot.
Newgrange. (Kasey Phillips/Eclipse Sportswire)
7. Newgrange (5-2)
Jockey: Victor Espinosa
Trainer: Phil D’Amato
Owners: David A. Bernsen, Little Red Feather Racing, and Rockingham Ranch
Career record: 13 starts – 7 wins – 0 seconds – 4 thirds
Career earnings: $1,007,634
Earnings per start: $77,510
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108
Pedigree: Violence – Bella Chianti, by Empire Maker
Age: 5
Color: Dark bay or brown
Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Newgrange is seeking redemption in the Santa Anita Handicap after throwing in a rare dud in the 2023 Big ’Cap when finishing seventh in this race last year in one of only two career off-the-board finishes. There are certainly reasons for optimism in this spot. Newgrange seemingly has never been better as he has been at this Santa Anita meet and is coming up to the Big ’Cap off back-to-back local stakes wins in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on Dec. 26 and the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Jan. 27, when he beat a pair of today’s top rivals in Newgate and Mixto. In spite of last year’s loss in this race, it’s still appropriate to look over Newgate’s past performances and call him a Santa Anita “horse for the course” based on his five wins in seven career outings on this main track. He led wire-to-wire last time in his San Pasqual victory and showed no signs of stopping in that 1 1/8-mile race. He’ll be tested again for both distance and class in the Santa Anita Handicap, but he seems up to the task on both accounts. Veteran SoCal jockey Victor Espinoza has the mount, and he owns three career wins in this race aboard Southern Image (2004), Accelerate (2018), and Express Train (2022).
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