ARCADIA, Calif. – It was fireworks in the finale on Saturday at Santa Anita.
Santa Barbarian, the longest shot in the field, scored an $89.20 upset in the $100,000 Snow Chief Stakes. It was the highest win payoff since the turf route for Cal-bred 3-year-olds moved from Hollywood Park to Santa Anita in 2014.
Ryan Hanson trains Santa Barbarian for owner-breeder Richard Barton; Kazushi Kimura rode the gelding to the half-length victory. He ran the 1 1/8-miles in 1:49.80. Cali Cat, the second favorite, finished second; Got Soul finished third. Bro Bro, the 9-5 favorite who set the pace to the far turn, bled and was eased.
Santa Barbarian, a gelding sired by Bodexpress, was tough for bettors to find. He was moving up from a 64-Beyer maiden win in a turf mile. Even his trainer acknowledged that expectations were not particularly high for the Snow Chief. Hanson deferred credit to Barton.
“Dick deserves a lot of the credit, he’s the one that wanted to go in here off his last race,” Hanson said. “And Kazushi deserves a lot of the credit. He was smart, we knew they were going to go fast, and he just left him alone.”
Santa Barbarian, who finished fifth in a $32,000 maiden-claiming dirt race two starts back, dropped out early and trailed in the early stages of the Snow Chief. He gradually crept forward three-wide while Bro Bro went the half-mile in :47.18. The pacesetter stopped on the far turn, and Cali Cat pounced from third.
By then, Santa Barbarian was right behind Cali Cat, who led to inside the furlong pole. Santa Barbarian wore him down. He finally ran like he had trained for Hanson.
“This horse has always worked really good in the morning, but he’s a really, really quirky horse to ride in the afternoon,” Hanson said. “He always gives you a feeling like he’s going to go anywhere, and then he kicks on. He’s a better turf horse.”
The win by Santa Barbarian was his second from five starts, and the highest-paying winner on the California Gold Rush card with five stakes for statebreds. Santa Barbarian was the bomb that generated a $2 pick six payoff of $107,818.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.