ARCADIA, Calif. – A top-class turf sprinter with a wicked turn of foot returns Saturday at Santa Anita in a Grade 3 his connections hope will lead to a third try at the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Motorious, however, is hardly a lock to win the Daytona Stakes in his first start of the season. Though he is the class of the field and the fastest on figures, Motorious is not the only graded stakes-winning veteran with credentials to win the hillside sprint.
Bran, also a 7-year-old gelding, has attributes that Motorious lacks, including tactical speed and current form. Runner-up in his recent comeback and the Daytona winner in 2022, Bran poses the main threat to Motorious on a Saturday card that includes the $100,000 Possibly Perfect Stakes.
Mrs. Astor, who crushed a listed stakes last out, would be tough in the Possibly Perfect, a mile and one-quarter turf race for fillies and mares. However, Mrs. Astor also is entered Sunday in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes, a 1 3/4-mile race against colts and geldings.
Trainer Jonathan Thomas planned to postpone a decision for Mrs. Astor until late this week. Mrs. Astor would be heavily favored against Starry Heavens in the Possibly Perfect and would be a contender against Divin Propos and Balladeer in the San Juan. Both races are for $100,000 purses.
The top horse Saturday is four-time graded stakes winner Motorious, runner-up in the BC Turf Sprint last fall at Del Mar and winner of the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes on Dec. 28 at Santa Anita. That was his most recent start. Trainer Phil D’Amato noted the layoff was by design.
“Every year, we give him a nice break at the farm, let him recoup, and he gives us five or six good races a year, and we send him out for a vacation again,” D’Amato said. “For a 7-year-old, he’s lightly raced and well-managed, and hopefully that pays dividends this year.”
It usually does. In 2024, Motorious won two of five and earned $388,660. In 2023, he won three of six and earned $339,000. Motorious, 8 for 21 overall, is owned by Anthony Fanticola, who in 2021 purchased him from a European auction for $317,756. It was a lot to spend for a gelding, but Motorious has paid his way and emerged as a premier turf sprinter.
“When he’s on his game, he’s as good as anyone out there,” D’Amato said. “He’s got a great turn of foot, but he needs a little pace to run at.”
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The summer plan for Motorious includes the Grade 3 Green Flash on Aug. 30 at Del Mar, a race he has won the past two years. The BC Turf Sprint is at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
Antonio Fresu rides Motorious against graded winners Air Force Red, Goliad, and Watsonville. The Daytona field also includes stakes winners Stay Hot and Lovesick Blues. Daniel’s Magic is expected to scratch.
The main rival for Motorious is Bran, whose runner-up finish last month was his first start in more than nine months.
“Sometimes I have to give him time after [a start],” trainer John Sadler said.
Not this year. Bran, who’s won 8 of 25, came out his second-place finish in the Siren Lure Stakes in top shape.
“He’s done really well, he looks good, and he’s a barn favorite,” Sadler said.
Bran, whose rider is Umberto Rispoli, has more speed than Motorious and could get a great trip tucked just off likely pacesetter Goliad. A three-time stakes winner, Bran should get first run over Motorious in the Daytona, which could be the only time the two meet this year. Sadler plans to stretch Bran back to two turns at Del Mar.
A potential upsetter in the Daytona is Watsonville, a route specialist making his first start since last summer and first since being gelded. Watsonville, who won the Grade 2 Mathis Mile in 2023 at Santa Anita, is using the Daytona to prep for longer. Trainer Mark Glatt suggests longshot bettors give Watsonville a closer look.
“Milers run really good down the hill sometimes, especially fresh,” Glatt said, adding that the Daytona “will set him up for Del Mar.”
Kazushi Kimura rides Watsonville, who has won 3 of 9.
The Daytona is race 10 on Saturday, while the Possibly Perfect is race 6. Mrs. Astor could be odds-on in the Possibly Perfect, having defeated Starry Heavens in both recent starts. But if Mrs. Astor runs Sunday in the San Juan, D’Amato trainees Starry Heavens and Kentucky Gal figure prominently in the Possibly Perfect.
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