ARCADIA, Calif. – The first week in January is a good time for a pair of highly regarded comebackers to start over – South American Group 1-winning mare Richi and debut-winning colt Eagles Flight, also known as Flightline’s younger brother.
Neither has to win Saturday at Santa Anita, but both may command attention in months ahead. Richi will face stablemate Pleasant on Saturday in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes, a filly-mare sprint that is race 9. Eagles Flight meets Mirahmadi in a first-level allowance route, race 7.
The favorite in the six-furlong Las Flores is Pleasant, third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Bob Baffert trains both Pleasant and Richi. What you see is what you get with Pleasant – a sharp 5-year-old whose half-length loss in the Breeders’ Cup was the best race of her 3-for-5 career.
“I backed off her a little bit” after the Breeders’ Cup, Baffert said. “We’re just getting her going again. This is just a start.”
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Pleasant breaks from post 6 under Juan Hernandez. With a versatile style and recent field-high Beyer Speed Figures of 95 and 97, Pleasant is 3-5 in the program.
The comebacker Richi, meanwhile, is a potential star in North America. She was 6 for 9 and a dual Group 1 winner when she arrived from Chile a year ago. In her only U.S. start, in June, she dueled through a wicked sprint pace and finished second. Richi has not raced since.
“We stopped on her, she got sick,” Baffert said. “She came back, and she’s changed a lot. Now she’s acclimated, she’s working really, really well. I can see what she’s going to be stretching out.”
Kazushi Kimura rides Richi, who worked evenly with BC Juvenile winner Citizen Bull on Dec. 28. Richi will have blinkers removed to ration her speed.
“In her first race here, she was fighting [her jockey] a little bit,” Baffert explained. Richi is likely to run long next time.
Others in the Las Flores include likely pacesetter Pushiness, along with outsiders Wine On Tap, Anywho, Don’t Bring Crazy, and Irish Wahine.
Race 7 is the allowance with Flightline’s 4-year-old half-brother Eagles Flight. A son of Curlin, Eagles Flight makes his second start Saturday. He won his sprint debut in May for trainer John Sadler, who also trained Flightline.
Why run Eagles Flight long?
“Because that’s going to be his thing. He’s a natural distance horse,” Sadler said. “A mile will be right in his wheelhouse.”
Sadler said Eagles Flight “came up with some minor stuff that needed time to mature out of” after his debut win. “Now he’s training up really well. I think he should improve a lot.”
Sadler will not dare compare Eagles Flight to Flightline.
“There are expectations for [Eagles Flight] because of the way he’s bred, but I’ve got a good ownership group that understands,” he said. “This is this horse. Let him be what he’s going to be.”
Umberto Rispoli rides Eagles Flight. Main rival Mirahmadi has a current racing edge and a bad-trip excuse for his recent Grade 3 misfire. Others in the allowance are Mici’s Express, New King, Ghazaaly, Demotivate, and Invigorate.
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