Despite the 2023 Awesome Again Stakes taking center stage this Saturday at Santa Anita, there are three other top-quality races which are worth making your card for. This year’s City of Hope Mile will see the return of Hong Kong Harry, who will be making his first start since the 2023 Shoemaker Mile back in March. Three times a Graded Stakes winner, he will be wanting to add to his graded haul this weekend.
A loaded field of eleven will head down to post for the renewal of the Eddie D Stakes. With a string of horses in with a real shout of victory, the John Sadler trained, Bran, will be looking for his first Graded Stakes victory of 2023.
The Stakes action will conclude with the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Mark Glatt will be looking for his third successive victory in the race and will saddle Dr Schivel who will start as one of the favorites for victory.
City of Hope Mile
Grade 2, 1 mile, turf, open to horses aged three and over. Total prize pool: $200,000
Nine horses have been declared for this year’s City of Hope Mile. The race looks wide open and there are several contenders.
Hong Kong Harry has won three Graded Stakes races in his career and will be making his first start since the 2023 Shoemaker Mile.
2023 has been a tough year for the Phil D’Amato trained runner, who is yet to win a race. Clearly classy, his connections will hope his long layoff will have him fit and raring to go.
Hong Kong Harry will lock horns once again with Irideo and Cathkin Peak.
The three finished in the first three places of the 2022 Del Mar Mile which Hong Kong Harry was able to win. Since that race, Irideo has beaten Hong Kong Harry, finishing ahead of him in the Shoemaker Mile.
A graded winner back in his native Argentina, he has yet to taste success on American soil but will hope to set that record straight this weekend.
Cathkin Peak was unlucky not to win this race last year and will be trying to go one place better this time around. Like Hong Kong Harry, he is lightly raced and has plenty to improve upon after two poor runs so far in 2023.
John Sadler will be hopeful of a super Saturday, and he sends Twist into the race. A solid performer in his native France, this will be just his fourth U.S start and his connections will hope he can run better than his fifth-place finish in the 2023 Del Mar Mile Stakes.
The only horse in the field that heads into the race fresh off the back of the win is Astronomer. That win came in Allowance company and remarkably this will be just his seventh start since 2021. The winner of the 2022 Qatar Golden Mile Stakes, he could play a leading part in proceedings.
War At Sea is another horse who cannot be ignored. The winner of the 2022 Cinema Stakes, he has showed he can operate at this level. His ninth-place finish in the Del Mar Mile Stakes doesn’t inspire confidence, but his connections will be hoping that he can put that blip behind him.
Il Bellator, Hit the Road and Flavius complete the line up, but all will start the race as outsiders.
Racing prediction: A tough opener awaits in this year’s City of Hope Mile, with several horses arriving either out of form or with fitness to prove. Hong Kong Harry was hugely progressive last year but has had a tough 2023. Now entering the time of year that he likes to race, he is our tentative selection.
2023 City of Hope Mile Odds
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| Il Bellator | Alejandro Gomez | Jose Bautista | +1500 |
| War At Sea | Victor Espinoza | Ronald Ellis | +800 |
| Hit the Road | Joe Bravo | Dan Blacker | +1500 |
| Hong Kong Harry | Juan Hernandez | Phil D’Amato | +250 |
| Astronomer | Antonio Fresu | Simon Callaghan | +600 |
| Flavius | Jose Valdivia | George Papaprodromou | +1200 |
| Twist | Hector Berrios | John Sadler | +300 |
| Cathkin Peak | Umberto Rispoli | Phil D’Amato | +400 |
| Irideo | Mike Smith | Marcelo Polanco | +800 |
Eddie D Stakes
Grade 2, 6 and a half furlongs, turf, open to horses aged three and over. Total prize pool: $200,000
Phil D’Amato heads into this year’s Eddie D Stakes boasting a strong hand as he looks to win the race for the first time since 2019.
With two runners, his best chance looks to be with Balnikhov. A good winner of the 2023 San Francisco Mile Stakes, he is now winless in his last three, although he did finish second in the 2023 Eddie Read Stakes.
Highly capable on his day, he will be wanting to remind everybody of his qualities.
D’Amato’s second string is Unconquerable Keen. Twice a winner back in Ireland, he has tasted American success courtesy of two Allowance victories. Yet to race in an American graded contest, he might be best watched on this occasion.
Bran for John Sadler is bound to be a popular selection. Disappointing when last seen, he could only finish seventh in the 2023 Green Flash Handicap.
A poor performance was perhaps expected, given the fact that was his first run for over a year. The winner of the 2022 FanDuel Turf Sprint Stakes, anything close to that performance will see him in the mix.
Richard Mandella is another trainer who has multiple entries in the race, and he saddles both Lane Way and Sumter.
Of the two, his best chance certainly lies with Lane Way. Having just his third start of the season, he could only finish fifth when last seen in the 2023 Green Flash Stakes. That was run over five furlongs and the feeling is that the step up to six furlongs, should see him return to form.
Sumter is likely to start as one of the outsiders and it is easy to see why. Winless in his last seven races, he will need to produce something special to come out on top in this field.
When it comes to sprint racing, Mark Glatt always must be respected. I’m A Gambler was a solid handicap performer in the UK, this will be his fourth start since moving to the U.S. Yet to win, it has taken some time to acclimatise but a third-place finish in the Del Mar Mile does offer up some real encouragement.
Another value angle could be Noble Reflection. He comes into the contest having had a lot of racing. His performance in the 2023 Grade 2 Ainsworth Turf Sprint Stakes last time out was poor but his connections will hope he will be able to put that performance behind him.
Completing the line up in this year’s Eddie D Stakes are Mas Rapido, Ah Jeez, Packs a Wahlop and Radical Right.
Racing prediction: with eleven runners in this years Eddie D Stakes, this is another tough race to call. With his two runners, Phil D’Amato will be confident of capturing this prize but will face serious competition from Bran. Bran has the best form in the book and if running to his best is the one they will all need to beat.
2023 Eddie D Stakes Odds
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| Balnikhov | Geovanni Franco | Phil D’Amato | +600 |
| Bran | Juan Hernandez | John Sadler | +250 |
| Sumter | Umberto Rispoli | Richard Mandella | +1500 |
| Mas Rapido | Edwin Maldonado | Robert Hess | +3000 |
| Noble Reflection | Mario Gutierrez | George Papaprodromou | +600 |
| Lane Way | Mike Smith | Richard Mandella | +300 |
| I’m A Gambler | Antonio Fresu | Mark Glatt | +600 |
| Unconquerable Keen | Joe Bravo | Phil D’Amato | +800 |
| Ah Jeez | Tiago Pereira | Doug O’Neill | +3000 |
| Packs a Wahlop | Hector Berrios | Jeff Mullins | +1500 |
| Radical Right | Diego Herrera | Peter Miller | +2000 |
Santa Anita Sprint Championship
Grade 2, 6 furlongs, dirt, open to horses aged three and over. Total prize pool: $200,000
Mark Glatt will be bidding to a win a third Santa Anita Sprint Championship and will send out the talented Dr Schivel.
Dr Schivel won this race back in 2021 but swerved the assignment last year. He has run well in 2023, winning an Allowance race before finishing a narrow third in the 2023 Bing Crosby Stakes. He knows how to win this race and could be a sensible selection.
Hoping to wrestle the crown away from Mark Glatt will be Bob Baffert. Despite his dominance over Californian racing, Baffert hasn’t won this race since 2016.
In a bid to end that losing streak he sends out three – Arabian Lion, Fort Bragg and Speed Boat Beach.
Baffert’s best chance looks to be with Arabian Lion. A winner of two of his last three starts, he was a narrow winner of the 2023 Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes. A poor start in the 2023 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes could only see him finish third. With the best form in the book, he will be a major contender here.
Fort Bragg finished behind a place behind his stablemate in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes but looks to have a bit to find with those at the top of the market. He was a good winner of the 2023 Dwyer Stakes and could be a decent value bet.
Speed Boat Beach will start as one of the outsiders and might be best watched on this occasion.
Peter Miller is another trainer with multiple entries. He saddles both Visitant and C Z Rocket.
Visitant will be having just his second run for Miller and will be wanting to build on his third-place finish in the 2023 Del Mar Mile Stakes. That was his first run in nine months, and he should be in far better shape here.
CZ Rocket will be the oldest competitor in the field. He is without a win in his last ten starts and will be another outsider.
Mike Smith is a Santa Anita icon, and he takes the ride of Sir Atticus. Lightly raced in comparison to most of his rivals, he ran with credit when finishing fourth in the 2023 Pat O’Brien Stakes. He is the unknown factor in the race and could be worth backing at a price.
Spirit of Makena and American Theorem complete the lineup, and both will need to run a big race if they are to win this race.
Whilst Dr Schivel and Mark Glatt must be respected, Arabian Lion has the best form in the book and looks to be the class angle of this contest. Bob Baffert has his team in great form at the moment and all three of his runners could be in with a real chance of victory.
2023 Sprint Championship Odds
| Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| American Theorem | Umberto Rispoli | George Papaprodromou | +1000 |
| Dr Schivel | Juan Hernandez | Mark Glatt | +180 |
| Arabian Lion | Edwin Maldonado | Bob Baffert | +250 |
| Fort Bragg | Ramon Vazquez | Bob Baffert | +600 |
| Visitant | Antonio Fresu | Peter Miller | +800 |
| C Z Rocket | Geovanni Franco | Peter Miller | +1200 |
| Sir Atticus | Mike Smith | John Shirreffs | +600 |
| Speed Boat Beach | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | +1200 |
| Spirit of Makena | Joe Bravo | George Papaprodromou | +600 |
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