By DRF.com
ARCADIA, Calif. (Jan. 14, 2021) — Aside from different styles and different sires, all 105 entrants in 10 races Saturday at Santa Anita do share one trait – California-bred or California-sired.
On a card that showcases the California breeding industry with five statebred stakes, including two $150,000 races, a dirt sprint and filly-mare turf sprint, a unique theme recurs. All five stakes include at least one starter sired by Clubhouse Ride.
“It’s remarkable that one sire could have all these horses running in there,” trainer Craig Lewis noted.
It is equally remarkable one trainer could have a shot in all five. Lewis trains every Clubhouse Ride stakes starter, some with a better chance than others.
Warren’s Showtime is expected to start favored in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, race 4; speedball Brickyard Ride and late-runner Club Aspen face likely favorites Loud Mouth and Fashionably Fast in the California Cup Sprint, race 9.
Lewis also starts maiden Warrens Candy Girl in the $200,000 California Cup Oaks, race 6. She finished second with a nightmare trip last out and is poised to upset. Warrens Candy Man is a longshot closer in the speed-filled $200,000 California Cup Derby, race 7; Margot’s Boy also is a reach in the $200,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic, race 8.
“We’re taking some shots, we’re swinging for the fences in some of these spots,” Lewis said. “But if you don’t go to the plate, you can’t hit the ball.”
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Lewis hit a home run with Clubhouse Ride, a 2010 auction purchase for $22,000 who earned more than $1.3 million on the track and is emerging as a top California stallion. His best crop, purportedly, will debut in 2022. Meanwhile, Clubhouse Ride is already off to a hot start with his first crop, now 4, that includes leading earner Warren’s Showtime.
Warren’s Showtime has won five stakes, six races overall, and earned $551,431. Owner-breeders Ben and Sally Warren also raced her Grade 1-winning dam, Warren’s Veneda, who was trained by Lewis. And though Warren’s Showtime is the most accomplished entrant in the Filly and Mare Turf Sprint, she is up against it at six furlongs.
“If it was six and a half, I’d be drooling,” Lewis said. “She’s probably a better miler, but if the pace is right and she gets a good trip, we know she’s capable.”
That won’t be easy, because the field is light on pace. As a backup plan, Warren’s Showtime is nominated to the Grade 3 Megahertz Stakes, a mile turf race on Monday at Santa Anita.
Upset candidate Leggs Galore is 3 for 3 on turf and the potential heir as top female turf sprinter trained by Phil D’Amato. His multiple stakes winner Just Grazed Me recently retired. Leggs Galore could be loose on the lead, pending strategy of unconfirmed starter Mo See Cal, who would be wheeling back in six days.
The field also includes upset candidate Sheza Girly Girl and 2-for-2 She’s Devoted.
Fashionably Fast will seek his second Cal Cup Sprint, with a major difference from last year. A four-time California-bred stakes winner, Fashionably Fast has not raced since August.
“He was just a little worn out,” trainer Dean Pederson said. “I knew if I kept pushing on him, all I’m going to do is wear my horse out. He needed a mental break as well as a physical break.”
Fashionably Fast, by Lucky Pulpit, is ready to race, according to Pederson. “After we were done schooling him [Tuesday] in the paddock, and after going to the gate a couple times, he started to realize” a race was imminent.
Pederson said Fashionably Fast, 7 for 18 with earnings of $490,245, is well-behaved most of the time. The exception is race day. “He’s kind of like a football player that might be the nicest guy in the world Monday through Saturday, but on Sunday when he slips on pads and a helmet, he wants to rip your head off.”
Loud Mouth enters with a current-form advantage off two fast wins – an entry-level allowance and California-bred sprint stakes at Del Mar. Trainer Steve Knapp attributes his improvement to distance.
“I was trying to figure out what distance he seems to be best at. And it looks like he’s best at sprinting,” Knapp said. “He’s on top of his game right now.”
Loud Mouth, by Boisterous, was claimed for $40,000 in the summer 2019 and has won 6 of 22 overall.
The pace scenario of the Cal Cup Sprint is clear. Lewis-trained Brickyard Ride “is a Quarter Horse, he’s going to burn up the track,” the trainer said. “If they go with him, they won’t survive.”
If the pacesetter falters, Lewis-trained late-runner Club Aspen could upset. His recent eighth-place comeback was merely a prep for Saturday.
Other entrants in the California Cup Sprint include Tigre Di Slugo, Bettor Trip Nick, Psycho Dar, Jamming Eddy, and Rookie Mistake.