La Brea Stakes

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest on the Japan Cup undercard Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse: Sunday, November 24, 2024 6th-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($89k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800mT RHINO (JPN) (c, 2, Into Mischief--Princess Noor, by Not This Time) is the first foal for his dam, the $1.35-million topper at the 2020 OBS April...

The 2024-2025 stakes schedule at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, will feature 79 added-money events over a total of 78 race dates, topped by the GI Santa Anita Handicap and the GI Santa Anita Derby. The Big 'Cap, worth $400,000 in 2024, will offer prize money of $300,000 this year, while the purse of the Santa Anita Derby has been cut to $500,000 from $750,000. On the flipside, the purses on offer for overnight races are above what was offered last spring and autumn, with four allowance and maiden...

Santa Anita's Classic Meet will get off to its traditional fast start Dec. 26 with a trio of Grade I events each worth $300,000--the GI Malibu S., GI La Brea S., and GI American Oaks--and the track will continue racing through June 16 with a total of 90 stakes scheduled for the 78 race days. Those 90 stakes races include 53 graded events, with 10 Grade I races highlighted by the 87th running of the $400,000 GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 2 and the $750,000 GI Santa Anita Derby Apr....

Jill Baffert and Connie Pageler's Fun to Dream, beaten just once now in six trips to the post, scored her first graded victory with a determined win in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Monday. Fun to Dream shadowed the pacesetters three wide down the backstretch. She stuck her head in front at the top of the lane and held Awake at Midnyte--the only horse so far to have finished in front of her--at bay down to the wire to score by 3/4 lengths. "This horse is getting...

Santa Anita Park will launch its annual winter/spring live racing season on Monday with a 11-race card featuring six stakes races, highlighted by the $300,000 GI Runhappy Malibu S., $300,000 GI American Oaks, and $300,000 GI La Brea S., the last three Grade Is of the year in the U.S. Dubbed this season for the first time as the Classic Meet, racing at Santa Anita will be conducted on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule through Apr. 9, the exceptions being Monday, Jan. 2 for the New Year's Day holiday, Monday, Jan. 16...

David A Bernsen, LLC, Gainesway Stable, Rockingham Ranch and Chad Littlefield's Kalypso (Brody's Cause) became her sire's first Grade I winner with a stylish victory in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Sunday. The 8-1 shot, making her first start since April, stalked the pace of Livingmybestlife (The Big Beast) through fractions of :22.11 and :44.92. Longshot Brilliant Cut (Speightstown) collared the pacesetter as they approached the stretch, but her advantage was short-lived as Kalypso ranged up three wide at the top of the lane and strode confidently...

For 14 years, Irishman Eoin Harty worked as the right-hand man to trainer Bob Baffert, helping oversee the careers of the dual Classic-winning duo of Silver Charm (1997) and Real Quiet (1998) among many other luminaries. For the last two decades, Harty has served as an American-based conditioner for Godolphin, having developed the likes of Street Cry (Ire), champion Tempera--whom he trained to a victory in the 2001 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies--and Dubai Escapade. Now 58 and a decade removed from his most recent Grade I success, Harty was...

Winchell Thoroughbreds's multiple graded stakes-winning homebred Finite (Munnings) invades from the east to face off against a talented group of sophomore fillies in the seven-furlong GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita Saturday. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the chestnut put together a four-race win streak which included scores in the Rags to Riches S. and GII Golden Rod S. at Churchill late last year and continued at Fair Grounds with victories in the Silverbulletday S. and GII Rachel Alexandra S. She went to the sidelines following a fourth-place effort in...