Bellafina likely for Debutante

DEL MAR, Calif. – Bellafina, the easy winner of the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 5, worked a half-mile in 49.80 seconds at Del Mar on Friday and is likely to start in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante for 2-year-old fillies on Sept. 1.

Trainer Simon Callaghan said earlier this month that Bellafina’s condition would be monitored before a decision was reached whether to skip the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs in favor of the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 29.

On Friday, Callaghan said Bellafina is on schedule for the Del Mar Debutante, pending a five-furlong workout next week.

“At the moment, it’s likely a go,” he said. “She’s really maturing.”

Owned by Kaleem Shah, who attended Friday’s workout, Bellafina was second at Los Alamitos in her debut on July 4. In the Sorrento Stakes at six furlongs, Bellafina led throughout to win by 4 1/4 lengths.

The Del Mar Debutante is a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2. Also expected for the Debutante is Brill, the outstanding winner of a maiden race on July 18 for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

Bob Baffert worked two candidates for the Del Mar Debutante on Friday – Chasing Yesterday and Der Lu.

Chasing Yesterday, a halfsister to 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and a maiden race winner on July 28, worked six furlongs in 1:13. Der Lu, a maiden race winner on Aug. 5, worked six furlongs in 1:14.60.

Santa Anita fall stakes slate

Santa Anita will run three stakes at five furlongs on turf at the 22-day autumn meeting from Sept. 28 to Nov. 4, the track announced on Thursday.

This will be the first meeting with five-furlong turf races, which will be run on the oval portion of the course. The races will be run on a limited basis, track officials said. For decades, the shortest turf races at Sana Anita have been run at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course, which will continue.

The first of 26 stakes at the meeting – the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes on Sept. 28 – will be run on the hillside course.

Typical of past autumn meetings, the first two weekends are highlighted by preps for the Breeders’ Cup, which will be run at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3. Santa Anita will host seven stakes in the first two weeks in which the winner will receive automatic berths to Breeders’ Cup races.

The list includes the $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-yearolds at five furlongs on turf Oct. 6. The winner will receive a feespaid berth in the newly created Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at the same distance at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2.

There are six Grade 1 races worth $300,000 each on the first two weekends, all preps for the Breeders’ Cup with fees-paid berths to the winners. The Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes for 2-year-olds on Sept. 29 will be known as the American Pharoah Stakes in honor of the 2015 Triple Crown winner. The winner receives a berth in the BC Juvenile.

The Sept. 29 program has three other Grade 1 races, led by the Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, a prep for the BC Classic; the Chandelier Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles (BC Juvenile Fillies); and the Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares on turf at 1 1/4 miles (BC Filly and Mare Turf).

The Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 30 is a prep for the BC Distaff. The Grade 1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship on Oct. 6 is a prep for the BC Sprint.

The Grade 2 City of Hope Mile, a $200,000 turf race, has been restored to the schedule after it was not offered in 2017 because of financial concerns.

The first weekend of November will include seven stakes, including two Grade 2 and two Grade 3 races.

Two $100,000 stakes for California-breds have been shortened from about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course to five furlongs on turf – the California Distaff for fillies and mares on Oct. 13 and the California Flag on Oct. 20.

Santa Anita to have Rainbow 6

Santa Anita plans to launch a 20-cent Rainbow 6 at its 22-day autumn meeting, which begins on Sept. 28, according to track executive Tim Ritvo.

The proposed change is part of Santa Anita’s license application for the autumn meeting, which will be discussed at Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board meeting at Del Mar.

The 20-cent pick six will be structured similarly to the bet in place at Gulfstream Park, where 70 percent of the net pool is paid to ticketholders with six winners, and the remainder is paid only if there is a single winning ticket. If there are multiple winning tickets, which is most often the case, there is a carryover in the single-ticket portion of the pool until there is one winning ticket, or until a specified day when the entire pool is disbursed.

Santa Anita will have a mandatory payout on Nov. 4, closing day of the autumn meeting.

Gulfstream Park is owned by The Stronach Group, the parent company of Santa Anita.

“The lower-denomination bets seem to work for the everyday customer,” Ritvo said on Thursday. “It’s a short meeting. We’ll try it. We want to let people jump in.

“If it doesn’t work, we’ll change.”