Speed Boat Beach will look to add a third stakes win on grass for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert when he takes on seven rivals, led by the grade 1-placed Nagirroc, in the $100,000 Eddie Logan Stakes Dec. 30 at a mile on turf at Santa Anita Park.
Speed Boat Beach, winner of the five-furlong Speakeasy Stakes on the Santa Anita turf course in October, added another stakes triumph on Dec. 4 when edging Game Time by a half-length in the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (G3T) going a mile on grass at Del Mar. Sandwiched between those two wins was a ninth-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) at Keeneland Nov. 4.
Speed Boat Beach will have a new rider on Friday as Ramon Vazquez takes over for Flavien Prat, who is on eastern shipper Nagirroc for trainer Graham Motion. By Bayern, the Caperlane Farm-bred Speed Boat Beach was a $200,000 purchase by his owners from the Really and Truly Thoroughbreds consignment to this year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.
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Nagirroc comes west following a solid third-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) at Keeneland Nov. 4. He vaulted into the Breeders' Cup after winning the Futurity Stakes (G3T) on grass going six furlongs at Aqueduct Racetrack. The son of Lea, who is owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables, and William Strauss, has worked once since his arrival at Santa Anita.
In the DeMille, Game Time dueled with Speed Boat Beach throughout and came up just short in a game effort under Umberto Rispoli. Trained by John Sadler and owned by Hronis Racing, the Not This Time colt broke his maiden one start earlier at Santa Anita when racing a mile on grass on Oct. 10.
Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will replace Rispoli, who is named to ride Classical Cat for trainer Phil D'Amato.
As for Michael House's Classical Cat, he is exiting a sharp allowance win when going a mile on grass for the first time on Oct. 23 at Santa Anita. Prior to that effort, the Mendelssohn colt won his debut sprinting on dirt at Del Mar in August and came back to finish seventh in the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1).
The Eddie Logan is named in honor of Santa Anita's original shoeshine attendant, who operated his shoeshine stand at The Great Race Place from its opening in 1934 until shortly before his death at the age of 98 on Jan. 31, 2009. Logan, who often referred to himself as a "Footman," was one of the most popular employees to ever work at Santa Anita.
G Laurie Leads 11-Horse Lineup in Blue Norther
G Laurie, third in the Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine in her most recent start, has come west seeking a stakes victory in Friday's $100,000 Blue Norther Stakes against a deep field in a mile affair on the Santa Anita turf.
Prior to her promising run in the one-mile Natalma, G Laurie debuted with a romping six-length victory going a mile and one sixteenth on grass at Colonial Downs on Aug. 23 for trainer Motion. The Oscar Performance filly arrived at Santa Anita earlier this month and worked a bullet last week in completing four furlongs in :48.
Madaket Stables' G Laurie will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, who won four races on opening day of the winter meet, Dec. 26, including two grade 1s. G Laurie adds blinkers.
Manhattan Jungle is one of three trained by Michael McCarthy in the Blue Norther. Twice a stakes winner in Europe, Manhattan Jungle came stateside for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) at Keeneland and checked in eighth after pressing the pace for previous trainer Amy Murphy Nov. 4. She is owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and will be ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez.
The local contingent has several that are exiting the Jimmy Durante Stakes (G3T) at Del Mar at the mile distance Dec. 3. Leading that group is Decorated My Life, who finished second at 20-1 in the Durante when making her U.S. bow for trainer Simon Callaghan. Owned by CYBT and Michael Nentwig, the Irish-bred daughter of Mehmas was 1-for-4 in her native country prior to shipping to the United States
Joe Bravo, who was aboard for the Durante, retains the mount on Decorated My Life.
Also exiting the Durante is Thebestisyettobe, who drew in from the also-eligible list after Showgirl Lynne B scratched.
Santa Anita Park, Friday, December 30, 2022, Race 3Entries: Eddie Logan S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Malibu Coast (KY) Lanfranco Dettori 120 Michael W. McCarthy 8/1 2 2Tostado (IRE) Juan J. Hernandez 118 Vladimir Cerin 4/1 3 3Classical Cat (KY) Umberto Rispoli 120 Philip D'Amato 4/1 4 4First Peace (KY) Mike E. Smith 120 Mark Glatt 5/1 5 5Nagirroc (KY) Flavien Prat 118 H. Graham Motion 9/5 6 6Game Time (KY) John R. Velazquez 120 John W. Sadler 6/1 7 7Speed Boat Beach (FL) Ramon A. Vazquez 122 Bob Baffert 5/2 8 8Ah Jeez (KY) Tiago Josue Pereira 118 Doug F. O'Neill 8/1
Santa Anita Park, Friday, December 30, 2022, Race 9Entries: Blue Norther S.
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 98 1Showgirl Lynne B (KY) SCRATCHED 0 UNKNOWN - 1 2Naughty Lottie (KY) Kent J. Desormeaux 118 J. Keith Desormeaux 30/1 2 3Ragtime Rose (KY) Kyle Frey 118 Jeff Mullins 15/1 3 4Decorated My Life (IRE) Joe Bravo 118 Simon Callaghan 4/1 4 5G Laurie (KY) Juan J. Hernandez 120 H. Graham Motion 5/2 5 6Manhattan Jungle (IRE) John R. Velazquez 118 Michael W. McCarthy 4/1 6 7Broadway Girls (KY) Edwin A. Maldonado 120 Doug F. O'Neill 10/1 7 8Tea N Conversation (KY) Umberto Rispoli 120 Michael W. McCarthy 6/1 8 9Spanning the Globe (KY) Kazushi Kimura 120 Michael W. McCarthy 20/1 9 10Pleasant Wave (KY) Mario Gutierrez 118 George Papaprodromou 30/1 10 11Ami Please (KY) Lanfranco Dettori 120 Doug F. O'Neill 12/1 11 12Thebestisyettobe (IRE) Flavien Prat 118 Philip D'Amato 6/1
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
