ARCADIA, Calif. – An inordinately slow pace in the Eddie Logan Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita did not deter late-runner Artislas, the odds-on favorite trained by Jeff Mullins and ridden by record-setting jockey Flavien Prat.
“All I could think about is Flavien is on him, so I’m not going to worry,” Mullins said.
During all of 2024, and on Sunday, Prat made all the right moves.
Artislas ($3.20) carried Prat to his record-extending 82nd stakes win of the year in the $101,000 Eddie Logan, a turf mile for 2-year-olds he won by a neck over slow-pace front-runner Fomo Joe. Sabertooth finished third.
Despite glacial fractions that often hinder late-runners, Artislas and Prat had a relatively uneventful trip. Three-wide in third or fourth behind a half-mile in 51.16 and six furlongs in 1:15.02, Artislas loomed three-wide into the lane and inched to the lead to win in 1:37.70.
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It was actually a good trip for Artislas, who has crossed the wire in front four times from five races. He won his debut against maidens, and the Grade 3 Del Mar Juvenile Stakes second out, then was disqualified from victory and placed third after causing interference in the Grade 3 Zuma Beach Stakes at Santa Anita.
In his start prior to the Eddie Logan, Artislas had a brutal trip and finished eighth in the $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on Nov. 1. Mullins freshened him and aimed for the Logan. Artislas became the fourth horse from the TAA to win a stakes his next start. Mi Bago, Smash It and Kale’s Angel won stakes after finishing fifth, ninth and 11th, respectively, in the TAA.
Artislas is owned by a partnership that includes Irving Ventures, Michelle Arthur, William Meathe and Jeanne Tumanjan. Artislas has now won three races and $177,500 from five starts. He is sired by Catalina Cruiser. The $3.20 winning payoff on Artislas was the lowest in the 17-year history of the Eddie Logan.
The next Santa Anita turf route stakes for the division (3-year-olds of 2025) Artislas could run in is the $100,000 Pasadena Stakes, a mile race on March 9. Eddie Logan runner-up Fomo Joe, who was making only the second start of his career, will be considered for the division’s next sprint turf stakes. That is the $100,000 Baffle Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong hillside race Feb. 16.
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