Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
The irrepressible Ride a Comet streaks into Frank Kilroe Mile
The Grade 2 Del Mar Derby in 2018 was the start of a four-race winning streak for Ride a Comet. It would have been impossible to predict the second win of the streak would come more than two years later.
Ride a Comet is scheduled to try and stretch his win streak to five in the Grade 1, $400,000 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf at Santa Anita on March 6.
Ride a Comet won the Del Mar Derby in September 2018, then suffered two tendon injuries and didn’t return to racing until last October, when he won an allowance race at Woodbine. Since then, Ride a Comet has won the Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes on the synthetic track at Woodbine in November and the Grade 3 Tropical Turf Stakes on Jan. 9 at Gulfstream Park.
Jockey Tyler Gaffalione was aboard Ride a Comet for the Tropical Turf Stakes and is booked to ride in the Kilroe.
“He’s a pretty serious horse,” trainer Mark Casse said Friday. “I think Tyler feels the same way.”
Ride a Comet, 6, owned by John Oxley and My Meadowview Farm, is one of a solid list of contenders – five from Florida – who are expected for the Kilroe Mile, the richest turf race of the winter-spring meeting.
Other candidates are Anothertwistafate, Bob and Jackie, Casa Creed, Flavius, Hit the Road, Royal Ship, Smooth Like Strait, Social Paranoia, Spirit Animal, and United in what should be the most intriguing race of the year to date in California.
Flavius and Spirit Animal are based with Chad Brown in Florida this winter. Both last raced in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap on Nov. 28 at Del Mar, with Flavius finishing second and Spirit Animal a troubled sixth. Social Paranoia, trained by Todd Pletcher, was fourth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park.
Casa Creed, second in the Tropical Turf, is trained by Bill Mott. Flying Scotsman was fifth in the Tropical Turf and returned for a convincing win in an allowance race at a mile on turf on Feb. 13 at Gulfstream Park for trainer Jack Sisterson.
The Kilroe Mile is expected to have the largest field of the four graded stakes on March 6 at Santa Anita. The others are the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, the Grade 2
San Felipe, and the Grade 2 San Carlos.
The expected field for the $400,000 Big Cap at 1 1/4 miles includes Kiss Today Goodbye, winner of the San Antonio Stakes on Dec. 26 and seventh in the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park; Express Train, Tizamagician, and Idol, the first three finishers of the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Jan. 30 at Santa Anita; Independence Hall, who was third in the Pegasus World Cup; and Mastering, who has yet to start in a stakes.
Title Ready, winner of the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes on Jan. 16 at Fair Grounds, and Multiplier, winner of a $50,000 claimer on Feb. 5, are under consideration for the Santa Anita Handicap.
Friday at Santa Anita, Independence Hall worked five furlongs in 59.60 seconds, while Tizamagician worked seven furlongs in 1:25.80. Tizamagician worked in company with a stablemate and was positioned off the pace, but he is likely to be on the lead in the Big Cap.
“We tried working him behind horses, and he didn’t like it,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “The thing to do is let him run.”
The $300,000 San Felipe Stakes for 3-yearolds at 1 1/16 miles is a leading prep for the Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on April 3 and is expected to include the highly touted Life Is Good, who is unbeaten in two starts.
Life Is Good won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at a mile on Jan. 2, holding off stablemate Medina Spirit, who returned to win the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes.
Both are trained by Bob Baffert, who said Friday that Medina Spirit also could start in the San Felipe Stakes, pending a weekend workout.
Other candidates are The Chosen Vron, Dream Shake, None Above the Law, Roman Centurian, and The Great One.
Storm the Court, the champion 2-yearold male of 2019, is scheduled to run in the $200,000 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs.
Storm the Court was seventh in the Pegasus World Cup Turf and is winless in nine starts since an upset win in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. The San Carlos Stakes would be Storm the Court’s first start on dirt since a sixth in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in September.
Trainer Peter Miller said in a text message Friday that C Z Rocket, second in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 7 at Keeneland, is a “possible” starter in the San Carlos.
Other candidates are Brickyard Ride, Cistron, Exaulted, Loud Mouth, Major Cabbie, Shashashakemeup, and Tigre Di Slugo.