OUT OF THE GATE

SANTA ANITA LEADERS

(Through Thursday)

JOCKEYS / WINS

Ramon Vazquez / 21

Juan Hernandez / 20

Umberto Rispoli / 18

Edwin Maldonado / 10

Hector Berrios / 8

TRAINERS / WINS

Philip D’Amato / 14

Peter Miller / 14

Bob Baffert / 8

Jeff Mullins / 8

Doug O’Neill / 8

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Last year, the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, outfinishing Essential Quality, but still came up second in balloting for the Eclipse Award as Top 3-Year-Old Male of 2021. This year, there’s a similar battle between Baffert’s Taiba and the Steve Asmussen-trained Epicenter. “I’ll take second (in the Classic),” Baffert said. “Just like last year. Knicks Go, I knew we couldn’t beat him, but Medina, he ran second. He beat the rest of the 3-year-olds. It would be nice to me if I could beat the other 3-year-olds.”

• Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said don’t sleep on Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath, 15-1 on the Distaff’s morning line. Lukas has been known to spring an upset or two at the Breeders’ Cup, including Cat Thief (19-1) in the 1999 Classic and Take Charge Brandi (61-1) in the 2014 Juvenile Fillies. “People have opinions, horses have the facts,” is one of Lukas’ pet phrases. “I’m confident, but I have great respect for the competition,” he said. “When you are a horse trainer, you can be real confident in your horse, but you have to respect the others and have a reality check that maybe you’re not as good as they are.”

• Golden Pal will be shooting for his third consecutive Breeders’ Cup victory after winning the Juvenile Turf Sprint in 2020 and taking last year’s Turf Sprint. He’s 2-1 on the morning line in Saturday’s Turf Sprint. “I think that says a lot for how I’ve been professing this horse to be so great from the onset,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “The only thing that he hasn’t done that I wish he could do would be to go back to Royal Ascot and win the King’s Stand, (but) he won’t get a chance to do that. But if he can win three Breeders’ Cups, that really puts him in elite company.”

— Art Wilson