Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Keeper Ofthe Stars to race once prior to Breeders’ Cup
Keeper Ofthe Stars, winner of the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes on Monday at Santa Anita, will not have a busy summer in advance of a potential start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland in November.
Trainer Jonathan Wong said Wednesday that Keeper Ofthe Stars may have only one race in the interim, but said he wanted to see the stakes schedules for the Del Mar summer and Santa Anita autumn meetings before confirming plans.
“I hope we can run her in California and she wouldn’t have to ship,” Wong said. “If everything goes good, we can try her in the Breeders’ Cup. We can get one race in her and give it a shot.”
There are a few options that fit Keeper Ofthe Stars in coming months – the John C. Mabee Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar or the Rodeo Drive Stakes at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita in late September or early October.
Specific dates for those races have not been announced. The $2 million BC Filly and Mare Turf will be run at 1 3/16 miles on Nov. 7.
Owned by Tom and Debbie Stull, Keeper Ofthe Stars won the $302,500 Gamely Stakes for her third stakes win, and first in a Grade 1. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Keeper Ofthe Stars closed from a stalking position to win by a half-length. Cedillo has ridden Keeper Ofthe Stars in her last six races and described the Gamely as the 4-year-old filly’s best performance.
Keeper Ofthe Stars gave Wong, 31, his first Grade 1 win. The filly gave him his first graded stakes win last October in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss Stakes at Santa Anita.
“She’s a really nice horse,” Wong said. “I was very proud of her.”
Weekend stakes promising
The Grade 3 Honeymoon Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf Saturday and the Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes for fillies and mares on Sunday are the main races at Santa Anita this weekend.
The $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes at 1 1/8 miles has a projected field of nine – Croughavouke, Fashion Royalty, Guitty, K P Dreamin, Laura’s Light, Little Bird, Parkour, Red Lark, and Stela Star.
The probable starters for the $200,000 Santa Maria Stakes at 1 1/16 miles are led by Ce Ce and Ollie’s Candy, the first two finishers in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 18 at Oaklawn Park, and Hard Not to Love, a two-time stakes winner who was second to Ce Ce in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on March 14 at Santa Anita.
The meeting continues through June 21. The June 6 program is the biggest card remaining with seven stakes, including the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks.
Four trainers given warnings
Trainers Jack Carava, Matt Chew, Leonard Powell, and John Sadler were issued warnings by Santa Anita stewards earlier this month after runners in their care showed the presence of scopolamine in post-race tests taken after races from mid-October to mid-February at Del Mar and Santa Anita.
The trainers escaped more stringent penalties after the stewards ruled that “contamination was the cause for these positives and warnings were the appropriate penalty,” according to a summarization that appeared in the weekly minutes that stewards submit to the California Horse Racing Board.
There have been repeated instances in which jimsonweed, which can contain scopolamine, has been found in hay used for stall bedding at California tracks in the last 25 years. Scopolamine is a Class 4 substance. Positives for scopolamine can result in disqualifications and the loss of a purse.
The recent positives were found in Miss Lady Ann, who finished second in the fourth race on Oct. 12 at Santa Anita for Carava; Vegas Strong Baby, who finished second in the first race on Oct. 27 at Santa Anita for Powell; Sapphire Kid, who finished sixth in the seventh race on Nov. 15 at Del Mar for Chew; and Tig Tog, who won the first race on Feb. 17 at Santa Anita.
In hearings with the stewards, the trainers or their veterinarians testified that they believe the positives were caused by contamination through feed or straw.
In 2018, Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for scopolamine after a win in the Santa Anita Derby. Six other runners, whose names were not revealed, tested positive for scopolamine at the time. All of the cases were dismissed by the racing board, which ruled that the positives were caused by the presence of jimsonweed present in hay.