Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Pubilius Syrus preps in Baffle
ARCADIA, Calif. – Pubilius Syrus won the Eddie Logan Stakes for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf at Santa Anita on Dec. 29 even though the distance may not have been the best fit.
“He’s a mile-and-a-quarter horse,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said.
Turf races in the division at that distance are months away, and Pubilius Syrus needs a start, leading to an appearance in Sunday’s $75,000 Baffle Stakes for 3-year-olds at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita. Cerin considers the Baffle Stakes a prep for the $200,000 Pasadena Stakes at a mile on turf on March 17, and has modest expectations Sunday for Pubilius Syrus.
“He can get fit,” Cerin said. “He’s training well. He feels great.”
Owned by David and Holly Wilson, Pubilius Syrus has won 2 of 6 starts and earned $112,140. He was second in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at a mile on turf at Del Mar on Nov. 26, losing by 4 1/4 lengths to the highly regarded Analyze It, who is based in Florida this winter.
Pubilius Syrus is one of two stakes winners in a field of six in the Baffle Stakes, the fourth race on a nine-race program.
Hemp Hemp Hurray won the Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park last August and has not started since finishing last of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 3. Trained in Florida by Wesley Ward, Hemp Hemp Hurray will race without blinkers for the first time in his career.
Psycho Dar, second in the California Cup Turf Sprint for 3-year-old statebreds on the hillside turf course Jan. 27, is a threat from off the pace. Colosi and Afleet Ascent won overnight races on the hillside in January.
The Baffle will be the stakes debut for Colosi, who is trained by Mark Glatt and named for Santa Anita clerk of the scales Kevin Colosi. By City Zip, Colosi won a maiden race on the hillside turf course by 4 3/4 lengths Jan. 7 in his first race on turf and his third start.
“He had been a nervous type of horse, mentally immature early on,” Glatt said. “In his first two races he had to ship and run. I don’t think that helped his cause at all.
“He switched over to the grass, and City Zips like the grass considerably. Whether he (won because he) didn’t have to ship and run, or transferring over to the grass, it could have been a combination of both.”
The Baffle Stakes is one of two stakes on Sunday’s program, along with the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes for fillies and mares at six furlongs. There is racing Monday, Presidents Day, with two $200,000 races for 3-year-old California-breds – the California Cup Oaks for fillies at a mile on turf and the California Cup Derby at 1 1/16 miles on dirt.
Dalmore eyes Santa Anita Cap
Dalmore’s emphatic win in an optional claimer at Santa Anita on Thursday has trainer Keith Desormeaux thinking of starting him in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 10.
In his first start since July, Dalmore ($11.80) led throughout Thursday’s race at 1 1/16 miles under jockey Kent Desormeux to win by 8 1/2 lengths over Cat Burglar.
Dalmore was rested last summer after a series of poor performances. Owned by the partnership of Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, Rocker O Ranch, and Keith Desormeaux, Dalmore has won 4 of 20 starts and earned $354,292. A 5-year-old gelding, Dalmore won the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita in 2016.
“To see him persevere after tough 2- and 3-year-old seasons, it’s very rewarding,” Keith Desormeaux said. “You wonder if they still have that desire.”
Desormeaux said Dalmore may be best at distances ranging from a mile to 1 1/16 miles. The $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap is run at 1 1/4 miles. In his only start at 1 1/4 miles, Dalmore was fifth of nine in the Pacific Classic in 2016 behind California Chrome, that season’s Horse of the Year.
Ceballos dealt suspension
Apprentice jockey Franklin Ceballos has been suspended three days from Feb. 23-25 for failing to ride Stole My ‘Art to the finish of the eighth race at Santa Anita on Feb. 11.
In a ruling issued Thursday, the board of stewards ruled that Ceballos’s action cost his mount a better placing. Stole My ‘Art finished sixth in a $6,250 claiming race at a mile, missing fifth place by a half-length. He was passed by Liar’s Smoker for fifth place in the final furlong.
The race had $1 super high five wagering, which requires bettors to select the first five finishers. The bet paid $268.60 from a pool of $23,258. There was no difference in prize money for fifth and sixth place. Both positions received $345 in appearance money.
Ceballos, 18, began riding in California last month, and has won two races from 14 mounts at Santa Anita.