A Day in the Life of a Kentucky Derby Horse
Defunded, above, won the 2022 Awesome Again Stakes and will try for a repeat win in this key West Coast prep race for the 2023 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. (Eclipse Sportswire)
The 2023 fall meet at Santa Anita Park features a jam-packed calendar of stakes races that leads right into the 40th Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the 14-race Super Bowl of horse racing to be held Nov. 3-4 at the Arcadia, Calif. track.
The marquee race of opening weekend is the $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes, a Grade 1 race Saturday that provides the winner with a fees-paid berth in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series.
Previously called the Goodwood Stakes, the race was renamed in 2012 in honor of 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again. The race is well-established as a major steppingstone to the Classic with Ferdinand (1987), Tiznow (2000), Pleasantly Perfect (2003), Mucho Macho Man (2013), and Accelerate (2018) sweeping both races since the start of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984.
Sign up today and bet the Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park with 1/ST BET, the Official App of Santa Anita Park. That way, once you get to know the Awesome Again horses in this Cheat Sheet, you can stop by and make your bets on Saturday, Sept. 30.
The 1 1/8-mile Awesome Again Stakes features a talented group of nine contenders. Read on to learn more about each of the horses entered for this year’s race.
Eclipse Sportswire
Jockey: Geovanni Franco
Trainer: Todd Fincher
Owner: Joe R. Peacock Jr.
Career record: 13 starts – 6 wins – 0 seconds – 1 thirds
Career earnings: $727,427
Earnings per start: $55,956
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115
Pedigree: Mineshaft – Rose's Desert, by Desert God
Age: 5
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Senor Buscador ran the race of his life two starts ago when he closed from 11 lengths back to win the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. He earned a career-best 115 Equibase Speed Figure in that race, the best of any entrant in the Awesome Again field. He’s no one-hit wonder either, as Senor Buscador won the Grade 3 Ack Ack Stakes last fall at Churchill Downs and opened his 2023 season with a stakes win at Sunland Park for trainer Todd Fincher. The 5-year-old by Mineshaft is a bit pace dependent, however, as a deep closer. His best races have come when there was a sprightly early tempo to set up his explosive closing kick. It looks like the pace for the Awesome Again should be honest at least but he would benefit from another runner applying a bit of pressure to probable front-runner National Treasure. Senor Buscador has been hit or miss in his career in that when he brings his “A” game, he typically wins, and if he’s not at his best he finishes off the board. He’s a win candidate at his best.
Bet Senor Buscador in the Awesome Again Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
2. Defunded
Jockey: Edwin Maldonado
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman
Career record: 19 starts – 7 wins – 4 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $1,606,600
Earnings per start: $84,558
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110
Pedigree: Dialed in – Wind Caper, by Touch Gold
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Don’t be surprised to see defending winner Defunded closer to the pace than he has been in his last two starts. He utilized pacesetting tactics under Edwin Maldonado to win the Awesome Again by 1 ¾ lengths last October and, outside of stablemate National Treasure, this year’s edition came up soomewhat light in terms of early speed. Defunded stayed in terrific form after last year’s Awesome Again as that race started a stretch of six starts in which he won four times and finished in the top three in the other two races, capped by a win in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup May 29 at Santa Anita. Since then, however, the 5-year-old gelding has been unplaced in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and $1,002,500 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes, finishing sixth in the latter and 10 ½ lengths behind the winner as the second betting choice. A couple of positive indicators for a bounce-back effort are the track and distance – Defunded has won five of nine starts on the main track at Santa Anita and has three wins and two seconds in six tries at this 1 1/8-mile distance. Trainer Bob Baffert has won this race a record eight times, including the last three with Improbable (2020), Medina Spirit (2021), and Defunded (2022), and has a great chance to add a ninth in 2023.
Bet Defunded in the Awesome Again Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
Jockey: Mario Gutierrez
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Owner: Reddam Racing
Career record: 13 starts – 4 wins – 4 seconds – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $1,096,600
Earnings per start: $84,354
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113
Pedigree: Nyquist – Edwina E, by Square Eddie
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Slow Down Andy finished third in this race a year ago before also running third in the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. He appears to be a strong win candidate in the Awesome Again with graded stakes wins from on and just off the pace and solid recent form. The 4-year-old Nyquist colt earned a new career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure for his runner-up finish to Senor Buscador in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap and subsequently ran third in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes behind Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride. With the top two from the Pacific Classic opting to train up to the Breeders’ Cup, opportunity knocks for Slow Down Andy, who has two wins at this distance (one on turf) and has also shown an affinity for the Santa Anita main track. Trainer Doug O’Neill won this race in 2006 with beloved Southern California fan-favorite Lava Man, and he has a very good shot to get a second victory with Slow Down Andy.
Bet Slow Down Andy in the Awesome Again Stakes
Coady Photography
4. Skinner
Jockey: Mike Smith
Trainer: John Shirreffs
Owner: C R K Stable
Career record: 8 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 3 thirds
Career earnings: $261,300
Earnings per start: $32,663
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104
Pedigree: Curlin – Winding Way, by Malibu Moon
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running style: Closer
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Skinner appeared to have significant momentum heading into this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve after running third in a pair of major prep races at Santa Anita Park, but a fever knocked him out of the first jewel of the Triple Crown. He returned this summer and has not quite lived up to expectations with a runner-up finish as the heavy favorite in the Los Alamitos Derby followed by a fifth against older horses in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes. The latter probably was better than it looks at first glance as he equaled a career-best Equibase Speed Figure against the toughest competition of his career, but this 3-year-old will need to take the step forward many have been waiting to see for much of the season to be a win candidate. Four 3-year-olds have won the Awesome Again in the last 16 editions and you often see big improvement from this age group at this time of year, so it would be wise to give Skinner an extended look. Trainer John Shirreffs has won this race twice with Bertrando in 1994 and 3-year-old Tiago in 2007; jockey Mike Smith was aboard for Tiago's victory and also guided Shared Belief to a win in the 2014 Awesome Again Stakes.
Bet Skinner in the Awesome Again Stakes
Coady Photography
Jockey: Drayden Van Dyke
Trainer: Todd Fincher
Owner: B4 Farms
Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 4 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $398,852
Earnings per start: $26,590
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103
Pedigree: Quality Road – Revel in the Win, by Red Bullet
Age: 4
Color: Gray or roan
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Bye Bye Bobby won a stakes race sprinting 6 ½ furlongs and another at this 1 1/8-mile distance this spring at Sunray Park for trainer Todd Fincher. While he has not won in two races since shipping to Southern California, this Quality Road colt has held his own in two starts against stronger competition. He finished third in the 1 ½-mile Cougar II Handicap in July at Del Mar and then was a fast-closing second, beaten by three-quarters of a length, in the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien Stakes, a “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Bye Bye Bobby earned a 101 Equibase Speed Figure going 1 1/8 miles and his running style has been versatile throughout his career, so he could settle in just behind the pace in the Awesome Again Stakes or rate a little bit farther back if the early tempo is fast. That said, he would need a career-best effort to vie for a victory and looks more like a longshot play to fill out your trifecta tickets. Jockey Drayden Van Dyke has won the Awesome Again twice with Mubtaahij in 2017 and Improbable in 2020.
Bet Bye Bye Bobby in the Awesome Again Stakes
Jockey: Antonio Fresu
Trainer: Mark Glatt
Owner: Edge Racing
Career record: 7 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
Career earnings: $161,680
Earnings per start: $23,097
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104
Pedigree: Malibu Moon – Global Hottie, by Dixie Chatter
Age: 4
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker/press the pace
Notable achievements and interesting facts: The Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes is a tough spot for Celestial Moon’s stakes debut, but the 4-year-old Malibu Moon colt is on an upward trajectory with three wins and one third-place finish in his last five starts. Most recently, he recovered from a slow start to track the pace in a one-mile allowance-optional claiming race at Del Mar and pulled clear to win by 1 ¾ lengths while posting a career-best 104 Equibase Speed Figure. He faded late and finished fourth after setting the pace in his lone previous try at 1 1/8 miles back in April at Aqueduct. Celestial Moon is a better horse now then he was in April but this is a much tougher group that he’s facing, and there is no doubt he would need to run the race of his life to pull off an upset here. A more realistic outcome might be settling in just behind a fairly easy pace and holding on for a minor award.
Bet Celestial Moon in the Awesome Again Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
Jockey: Juan Hernandez
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Career record: 8 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $1,415,000
Earnings per start: $176,875
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 102
Pedigree: Quality Road – Treasure, by Medaglia d'Oro
Age: 3
Color: Bay
Running style: Pacesetter
Notable achievements and interesting facts: National Treasure entered the season with a fairly strong résumé having placed twice in Grade 1 races as a 2-year-old, including a third-place finish in the 2022 FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. He opened the year with a disappointing third-place finish as the 3-5 favorite in the Sham Stakes and then looked like maybe he was simply a cut below the best of his 3-year-old class when unplaced in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. But as 3-year-old racehorses often do, National Treasure took a huge step forward in the Preakness Stakes and led from start to finish, battling gamely late to hold off Blazing Sevens by a head with Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Mage another 2 ¼ lengths back in third. In two starts since his classic win, however, National Treasure has failed to fire – albeit against elite competition – when finishing sixth by 7 ¼ lengths in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets and fifth by 9 ¾ lengths in the Travers Stakes, both won by 3-year-old division leader Arcangelo. He looks like he should be able to control the pace in the Awesome Again with leading Southern California jockey Juan Hernandez aboard for the first time, and cutting back to 1 1/8 miles should suit him after the unplaced finishes at 1 ½ miles and 1 ¼ miles. National Treasure is one of two legitimate win candidates along with Defunded for trainer Bob Baffert, who has won this race a record eight times, including the last three years with Improbable (2020), Medina Spirit (2021), and Defunded (2022). Co-owner SF Racing also was a part-owner of 2020 winner Improbable.
Bet National Treasure in the Awesome Again Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
8. Piroli
Jockey: Umberto Rispoli
Trainer: Michael McCarthy
Owner: Don Alberto Stable
Career record: 15 starts – 3 wins – 4 seconds – 2 thirds
Career earnings: $237,800
Earnings per start: $15,853
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107
Pedigree: Battle of Midway – Phonybooksnrecords, by Tapit
Age: 4
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: Piroli probably rates as the most unlikely entrant in the Awesome Again field as he needed nine starts to earn his first win, which came Jan. 5, 2023, at Golden Gate Fields on the all-weather Tapeta Footings main track. He added a couple of wins in one-mile races on the main track at Santa Anita but really announced his presence in the older male division with a runner-up finish at 28.30-1 odds in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. The gelding went from winless to Grade 1-placed in a matter of four months. Sent to Del Mar this summer, he failed to show that top form when running fourth in an allowance race and then finishing seventh, beaten by 10 ¾ lengths, in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes. He’s been at his best at Santa Anita, which is a plus, for a trainer in Michael McCarthy who has 12 Grade 1 wins in the last five years. Expect him to be one of the biggest prices in the field with a very good chance to outrun his odds. Piroli looks like a live longshot.
Bet Piroli in the Awesome Again Stakes
Eclipse Sportswire
9. Stilleto Boy
Jockey: Kent Desormeaux
Trainer: Ed Moger Jr.
Owner: Steve Moger
Career record: 24 starts – 4 wins – 4 seconds – 9 thirds
Career earnings: $1,816,675
Earnings per start: $75,695
Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113
Pedigree: Shackleford – Rosie's Ransom, by Marquetry
Age: 5
Color: Chestnut
Running style: Stalker
Notable achievements and interesting facts: This veteran gelding finished second in the 2021 edition of the Awesome Again Stakes when he was just starting to emerge as a serious racehorse before running fifth in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. Since then, he’s run some huge races and amassed considerable purse earnings, including wins in the 2022 Californian Stakes and 2023 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino along with four additional top-three finishes in Grade 1 races. His recent form, however, has not been as promising as he was a well-beaten sixth in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes in July before finishing last of 10 when he was eased late in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes Sept. 2. Stiletto Boy has proved capable of stepping up in spots like this in the past but supporters would be banking on a sharp reversal in recent form. Only Gary Stevens has more wins in this race than Kent Desormeaux, who won it four times with Reign Road (1992), Lottery Winner (1993), Soul of the Matter (1995), and Freedom Crest (2001).
Bet Stilleto Boy in the Awesome Again Stakes
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