ARCADIA, Calif. – Air Force Red leads a squadron of veterans racing six furlongs on turf in the $100,000 Siren Lure Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. The listed stakes, which is the second leg of a pick six with a $67,674 carryover, has a geriatric feel.
The top four choices are 7-years-old, an age at which many horses lose a step. Air Force Red is as good as ever.
Two months after winning the Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes on the hillside turf course, Air Force Red switches to the main oval for the Siren Lure. His rivals include 7-year-olds Bran, Lovesick Blues, and Noble Reflection. Route specialists Final Boss and Eye On Ry, 4 and 5 respectively, are also entered.
If Air Force Red runs the tighter turns of the main oval as well as he does the sweeping turns of the hillside course, and if he handles the shorter six-furlong distance, he can win the Siren Lure with a pressing trip from post 3 under jockey Armando Ayuso.
“It’s not often we have a [turf sprint] stakes on the flat, usually they are on the hill,” Air Force Red’s trainer Leonard Powell noted. “I like the setup on Saturday. There’s speed inside us, and we should get a good setup.”
The last time Air Force Red sprinted on the Santa Anita main turf was three years ago, when he won a maiden race. Since then, he has been a consistent earner for Powell and owners Holly Golightly and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. Air Force Red, a ridgling, has won seven races and $711,574 from 25 starts, mostly at distances from 6 1/2 furlongs to a mile.
Powell has a knack with aging stakes veterans. In addition to Air Force Red, 7-year-old Dicey Mo Chara finished a close third last week in a Grade 2. Powell-trained Soi Phet won a pair of stakes as a 10-year-old in 2018.
“When you get these horses to last, it’s extra satisfying,” Powell said.
Bran falls into the same category. John Sadler trains the 7-year-old gelding, who in 2022 won the Siren Lure and Grade 2 Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs. He has raced only three times since, and enters the Siren Lure off a layoff of more than nine months.
“He always needs a little bit of time after a couple races,” said assistant trainer Juan Leyva. “But right now, he’s training really well and we expect him to run a good race.”
Bran has won eight races and $768,032 from 24 starts and will have Umberto Rispoli aboard.
Sadler and Leyva also start comebacker Final Boss, a 4-year-old facing older for the first time. Winner of the Cinema Stakes for 3-year-olds last June, Final Boss is using the Siren Lure as a prep for future two-turn races.
The pace of the Siren Lure is likely to be set by Noble Reflection, who drew the rail for his first start since he was claimed for $40,000 from a runner-up finish by Librado Barocio. Antonio Fresu rides Noble Reflection.
Barocio also entered multiple stakes-placed Lovesick Blues. Eye On Ry shortens to one turn and will be rolling late.
The Siren Lure is race 5 on a nine-race program.
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