Running for the first time on a synthetic surface, Brazilian-bred Einstein scored his 10th and richest win in 24 career starts, in the $1 million G1 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday, March 7.
“We didn’t really know about this track, but we were pretty sure he was going to handle it,” said jockey Julien Leparoux. “He’s a good horse on anything.”
Einstein held off 27-1 long shot Champs Elysees down the stretch to win the 1 1/4-mile race by one length in 2:01.93. Matto Mondo, the slight 9-2 favorite, finished third by a neck. Blue Exit, a 4-year-old who had won four of nine career starts, broke down late in the race and was euthanized.
“Einstein was very comfortable with this track from the time he got here,” said Helen Pitts-Blasi, the first winning woman trainer in the race’s 72-year history. “And he (Leparoux) rode him beautifully. They’re a great team.”
At one time, Einstein, the 7-year-old son of 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck, was a stablemate of 2007 Horse of the Year Curlin. Curlin started his career with Pitts-Blasi and was purchased privately after his 12-length maiden win and transferred to Steve Asmussen’s barn.
Last year, Einstein won the G1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap and the G2 Clark Handicap on dirt at Churchill Downs. With $2,278,020 in earnings and the Santa Anita victory on the Pro-Ride artificial surface, Einstein, owned by Midnight Cry Stables, could be a contender in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup at Oak Tree in November.
“We would have to supplement him, but obviously, it’s worth doing,” said Pitts-Blasi.
Stardom Bound may be Kentucky bound
Also on the March 7 card at Santa Anita, Stardom Bound, 2008 2-year-old filly of the year, claimed her fifth consecutive win in the $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16th miles. Considered a possible contender against the boys for both the Santa Anita Derby and the Kentucky Derby, the grey filly, trained by Bobby Frankel, survived a rough trip to win a four-horse photo finish by a nose.
“When I moved out with her turning for home, everybody else went out at the same time and we got caught really wide,” said rider Mike Smith. “But at the wire she put her ears up. Maybe this is the kind of race she needed.”
In related news: MEC files for bankruptcy
On Thursday, March 5, Magna Entertainment Corp (MEC), owner of historic Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, filed for bankruptcy protection after defaulting on conditions of a bank loan Magna’s chief executive, Frank Stronach, confirmed that Magna would sell Santa Anita and other racetracks, including Pimlico, home of the Preakness Stakes, “if the price is right.”
Stronach, one of the top breeders and owners in thoroughbred racing, paid $126 million for Santa Anita in 1998 and invested millions more in improving the historic track. In the late 1980s, Arcadia, which realizes one-third of 1% of Santa Anita’s betting handle, received about $2.5 million a year, but the total is expected to fall to $1.1 million in 2009.
Magna, which listed assets of $1.05 billion and liabilities of $959 million in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware, has lost $638 million since 2002. Day-to-day operations at Magna tracks would continue while it attempts to sell assets and restructure.