8th-Santa Anita, $63,700, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 10-6, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.14, ft, 4 lengths.
PRACTICAL MOVE (c, 3, Practical Joke–Ack Naughty {MSP, $310,450}, by Afleet Alex) has never been off the board in his career and after almost six months away since winning the GI Santa Anita Derby by the slimmest of noses over Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby), he returned to the races here like he never left. Enthusiastically hammered down to 2-5 favoritism at the windows and on Lasix for the first time in his career, he left the blocks well against a short, albeit quality, field. Comfortably rated from the jump in third as Newgrange (Violence) and Tripoli (Kitten's Joy) disputed the early pace, he followed them up the backstretch and into the far turn where he challenged passing the quarter pole. Inhaling Tripoli coming off the bend, he kicked home when asked for more and coasted home much the best by four lengths.
“We were hoping for this,” said Yakteen. “Very happy with the way he ran, he'd been training very well but you never know until you run 'em…Things set up well for us today and he replicated what he's been doing in the morning.”
When asked about a potential next start, the conditoner declined to speculate: “We're going to take a day or two, think about where we'll go next and we'll figure it out.”
Ack Naughty's first offspring to the races and to garner black-type, Practical Move has a yearling half-brother by Complexity. Their 2023 Upstart half-sibling was stillborn and the dam went to the venerable Into Mischief for 2024. Sales history: $90,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 8-5-1-2, $923,200. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Leslie A. & Pierre J. Amestoy, and Roger K. Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen.
PRACTICAL MOVE ($2.80) and @JockeyRamonVazq made his return to the races a winning one in @santaanitapark race 8. This colt by @coolmoreamerica's Practical Joke was trained by @timyakteen.
One to go at Santa Anita, wager on https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh! pic.twitter.com/WswX2nYy9d
— TVG (@TVG) October 6, 2023
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