SANTA ANITA LEADERS

Through Monday

Jockeys / Wins

Flavien Prat / 22

Juan Hernandez / 16

Umberto Rispoli / 14

Antonio Fresu / 8

Tiago J. Pereira / 7

Trainers / Wins

Mark Glatt / 11

Jeff Mullins / 8

Bob Baffert / 8

Philip D’Amato / 6

Doug F. O’Neill / 6

UPCOMING STAKES (SANTA ANITA)

Saturday

• $200,000, Grade II San Pasqual Stakes, 4-year-olds and up, 1⅛ miles

Sunday

• $100,000 Clockers’ Corner Stakes, 4 and up, about 6½ furlongs on turf

DOWN THE STRETCH

• Saturday’s San Pasqual Stakes should help to sort out prospects for the March 1 Santa Anita Handicap. The seven-horse field includes Imagination (Diego Herrera riding), in gear after a good third-place finish in the Malibu Stakes; Tarantino (Edwin Maldonado), second to JB Strikes Back in the Laffit Pincay Handicap, and Express Train (Hector Berrios), winner of the San Pasqual in 2021 and 2022 and the Big ’Cap in 2022.

• Trainer Bob Baffert runs two high-rated 3-year-olds in the same maiden sprint Saturday at Santa Anita, giving San Saba (Maldonado) his racing debut and Varney (Berrios) a second try.

• Jockey Kazushi Kimura was to ride Imagination and San Saba but remains sidelined with a leg injury from a Jan. 16 starting gate accident. Kimura was tied for fourth in the Santa Anita jockey standings before he got hurt.

• The $3 million, Grade I Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the richest North American race of the winter, drew a field of 12 for Saturday’s running at Gulfstream Park near Miami. Locked (John Velazquez), a 5-2 morning-line favorite, can be beaten by 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Brian Hernandez Jr.), Pacific Classic winner Mixto (Frankie Dettori) and Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold (Antonio Fresu) on their best days. Also entered is Newgrange (Emisael Jaramillo), the 2023 and 2024 San Pasqual winner.

• Santa Anita’s top two jockeys will be in Arkansas on Saturday to ride in the Grade III Southwest Stakes, a step toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby. Juan Hernandez takes over 2-1 morning-line favorite Gaming for Baffert. Flavien Prat, who won the Del Mar Futurity with Gaming, moves to 5-2 Patch Adams for trainer Brad Cox.

• Cox-trained Disco Time ($5.80) and Florent Geroux rallied on the outside to beat Built and Jareth Loveberry by a neck in the Grade III Lecomte Stakes in New Orleans last Saturday. The first 1-1/16-mile race on the 2025 Derby prep calendar went in a slow 1:47.07 on a sloppy track. Admiral Dennis was scratched but won at the allowance level the next day.