GSW Stay Hot (Summer Front) may have been the 6-5 choice in the GII Twilight Derby after finishing in front of Atitlan (c, 3, The Factor–Armanda {Ger}, by Acatenango {Ger}) in both a La Jolla Handicap win and a GII Del Mar Derby placing, but it was the latter who is an improving sort and inverted the results Saturday at Santa Anita to secure his first stakes win. Cathal (Ire) (No Nay Never) finished third in his first stakes try.
With Curlin's Kaos (Clubhouse Ride) speeding to the front early with his ears pricked, John M. B. O'Connor's Atitlan settled nicely along the rail in a covered-up fourth as Stay Hot lingered last. Jockey Hector Berrios had a loaded horse under him as Atitlan kept in touch with the first flight of his own accord while under a hold. As the field bunched up swinging into the final turn, Atitlan tipped out around the pacesetter, made a hole, and collared Curlin's Kaos with ease. Berrios encouraged him, but the race was over as he strode home powerfully and left the result in no doubt. Despite Stay Hot unwinding from the back of the pack, there was no catching Atitlan and he had to settle for runner-up honors.
“He's had a little bit of traffic problems in prior races, but today he seemed to relax really well and Hector [Berrios] was able to just wait and make one big move,” said winning trainer John Shirreffs. “Hector, all month long, has come over to work him and every time he's come in [with a time]) of 1:02 and we wonder if that is good enough. He said, 'Don't worry John, he's doing really well.' It worked out great.”
Atitlan's seventh-place finish in his career debut this past May was a highly watched event due to the presence of winner Eagles Flight (Curlin), a half-brother to Horse of the Year Flightline (Tapit). Eagles Flight hasn't raced again, but Atitlan moved to the grass and has steadily progressed, resulting in a Del Mar win July 20, a pair of thirds in the aforementioned Del Mar Derby and La Jolla Handicap, and now his first stakes score in the graded Twilight Derby.
Pedigree Notes:
The Factor, a Lane's End stallion, is the sire of 43 black-type winners. Himself a multiple Grade I winner on dirt, the son of War Front has his own stakes winners balanced between dirt and turf, with even the two Grade I winners found among his 11 graded winners split right down the middle with one on each surface. Two of The Factor's stakes winners are out of Acatenango mares, with Atitlan joining SW & MGSP Semper Sententiae (Sulamith {Ger}). Armanda, Atitlan's dam, is herself responsible for two of the 75 stakes winners out of daughters of Acatenango, as MGSW & GISP Astronaut (Quality Road) is also hers. Armanda, purchased by Anastasie Christiansen-Croy–breeder of Atitlan–at the 2012 Arqana December sale for just under USD$50,000, has a yearling colt by West Coast named Airliner, didn't produce a foal in 2024, and was covered by both Maclean's Music and Charlatan for next term.
Saturday, Santa Anita
TWILIGHT DERBY-GII, $201,000, Santa Anita, 10-26, 3yo,
1 1/8mT, 1:49.12, fm.
1–ATITLAN, 124, c, 3, by The Factor
1st Dam: Armanda (Ger), by Acatenango (Ger)
2nd Dam: Aragosta (Ger), by Nebos (Ger)
3rd Dam: Arabeske (Ger), by Kronzeuge (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-John M.
O'Connor; B-Anastasie Astrid Christiansen-Croy (KY);
T-John A. Shirreffs; J-Hector Isaac Berrios. $120,000.
Lifetime Record: 5-2-0-2, $213,500. *1/2 to Astronaut
(Quality Road), MGSW & GISP, $519,860. Werk Nick Rating: C.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Stay Hot, 124, r, 3, Summer Front–Etsu, by Smart Strike.
($130,000 Ylg '22 FTKJUL). O-Burns Racing LLC, Exline-Border
Racing LLC, SAF Racing, Estate of Brereton C. Jones & William
Dan Hudock; B-Brereton C. Jones (KY); T-Peter Eurton.
$40,000.
3–Cathal (Ire), 124, c, 3, No Nay Never–Lucky At the Bay, by
Lucky Pulpit. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
(€120,000 Ylg '22 GOFOR). O-Diamond T Racing, LLC, Iapetus
Racing, LLC, Lady Marion, LLC and Alphin, Richard; B-Moni
Market (IRE); T-John W. Sadler. $24,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HF. Odds: 6.30, 1.30, 8.20.
Also Ran: Curlin's Kaos, Twirling Point, Rothschild, Wynstock.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
ATITLAN ($14.60) found a seam and @HIBerrios rode him through it for victory in the $200,000 Twilight Derby (G2) at @santaanitapark. John Shirreffs trained the colt by The Factor (@LanesEndFarms).
The Late Pick 3 starts now: https://t.co/5VcRa4UZmg pic.twitter.com/r5oXUGtmDz
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 26, 2024
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