Santa Anita opened racing at its Oak Tree meeting Wednesday. On a new synthetic surface that is being closely scrutinized leading up to next months Breeders Cup.
Forget sigh, track president Ron Charles said at days end. This was a big `whew.
Having a successful month of racing going into the sports richest two days could help attract reigning Horse of the Year Curlin to challenge Big Brown in the $5 million Breeders Cup Classic.
Owner Jess Jackson said this week he is unsure about trying Curlin on a synthetic surface for the first time, and that the tracks condition would play into his decision to participate in what could be one of the sports greatest races.
Theres nothing more important than to show the rest of the country and the world that the surface is fair, consistent, and most importantly safe, said Charles, who has fielded calls worldwide from tracks considering switching to synthetic surfaces and horsemen weighing whether to enter the Breeders Cup.
Wednesdays opening day feature, the $100,000 Morvich Handicap, didnt reveal anything about the new surface because it was run on the turf.
But it did give the winner, 22-1 long shot California Flag, an automatic berth in the BC Turf Sprint, one of 14 Breeders Cup races to be run Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita.
Ridden by Joe Talamo, California Flag covered 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:11.10, bettering the old track mark of 1:11.13 by Lennyfrommalibu on Jan. 22, 2004. He paid $47.40, $16.40 and $9.
Well pay the entry fee and go in the Breeders Cup, trainer Brian Koriner said.
Beaten by three lengths, wagering favorite Get Funky returned $3.40 and $2.80, and One Union paid $5.60 to show.
Easy on the Eye clipped heels with Ten Meropa a few strides out of the gate, sending jockey Corey Nakatani tumbling to the ground. Easy on the Eye ran the rest of the race until being caught by an outrider well beyond the finish line, while Nakatani was taken to a hospital for X-rays.
Richard Mandella described most of his fellow trainers as being very happy with the surface since training on it began a few weeks ago.
Tyler Baze, last years leading rider at Oak Tree, said he had no problems in the days first race, adding, The track seems nice.
Talamo, who also rode in the first race, said, The new surface felt great. I thought the fractions were very realistic.
Fans surveying the track on a sunny day with temperatures hitting the mid-90s noticed the surface is closer to dirt in colordark brown instead of the pale yellow of Polytrack at Del Mar.
Across town, Hollywood Park has Cushion Track, the same surface that failed to drain last winter when torrential rains hit Santa Anita. The fiasco cost the track 11 days of racing and millions of dollars in repairs, which involved mixing Pro-Ride material into the Cushion Track, which got it to drain.
Once the winter meeting ended in April, Santa Anita officials decided to completely replace the surface with Pro-Ride, a mix of dirt, fibers and polymer binders.
What you see right now is pretty much the track we hope to see for Breeders Cup, Charles said.
Workers cleaned up manure from the surface between races Wednesday, but the track is groomed as little as possible, a change from dirt tracks that are harrowed after each race. It will be watered only if the surface needs cooling off, Charles said.
I have great hopes itll just be better than ever, Breeders Cup, too, said Mandella, who is also on Oak Trees board of directors.
After watching the days first few races, he said the track looks like its favoring the best horse. Youre seeing real racing from the quarter pole home, instead of someone just staggering home surviving.
In the days other incident, Honor Your Wager pulled up after the finish line of the second race with a lame right front leg and was vanned off the track.
