ELLIS NOT MAD AT FILL IN.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with ARCADIA - Ron Ellis always thought Don't Get Mad was a clever name for a racehorse racehorse refers usually to thoroughbred but may also include standardbred, trotter. , a little wordplay inspired by the colt's sire Stephen Got Even. Now, Ellis thinks Don't Get Mad is appropriate for a different reason, the trainer having spent the past week cursing his bad luck. Don't Get Mad - who will get a big test in the $250,000 San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses run each year at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is normally held in mid-March and is open to horses, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. at Santa Anita on Saturday - became Ellis' Kentucky Derby hope after 2-year-old champion Declan's Moon was sidelined by a knee injury. ``They're different horses with different styles,'' Ellis said Thursday morning of Declan's Moon, who has gone undefeated in five starts by racing close to the early pace, and Don't Get Mad, who has won twice in three tries by storming from behind. ``I think a mile and a quarter (the Kentucky Derby distance) is going to be right up his alley. I don't think he'll show his stuff until he goes two turns. He's been winning sprints on talent alone.'' Ellis, a Glendale native and Monroe High of North Hills graduate, said he doesn't expect Don't Get Mad and jockey Tyler Baze to fall as far behind in the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe as they did in the 7-furlong San Vicente Stakes The San Vicente Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park each year. The race is open to horses, age three, willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and carries a purse of $150,000. The great racing filly, Busher, won this race against males in 1945. . In that race Feb. 13, Don't Get Mad was running last in the four-horse field, six lengths off the pace, before kicking home to finish second by a length to front-running Fusaichi Rock Star. ``This horse is unbelievable,'' Baze said after jumping off the 3-year-old. ``To be able to close like he did (after the leaders were) going that slow and easy is amazing.'' At the time, Don't Get Mad, owned by B. Wayne Hughes Bradley Wayne Hughes (born September 28, 1933 in Gotebo, Oklahoma) is the billionaire founder and chairman of Public Storage, the largest self-storage company in America. Known all his life by his middle name, B. , was merely Ellis' second string behind Declan's Moon, owned by Mace and Samantha Siegel. Bought at a Florida 2-year-olds sale for $350,000, Don't Get Mad began racing in Kentucky, which saved Hughes a California tax hit. Trained in Kentucky by Ellis' brother-in-law Paul McGee, Don't Get Mad won his debut by six lengths and his second start by 1 1/4, both races at Churchill Downs. He was off for 2 1/2 months before his eye-catching rally in the San Vicente. Saturday's San Felipe is the final major steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. to the April 9 Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. , the western prep for the May 7 Kentucky Derby. Don't Get Mad drew post position 1 for an eight-horse field that includes Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. winner Wilko (Corey Nakatani riding), Norfolk Stakes winner Roman Ruler (Gary Stevens), Hollywood Futurity runner-up Giacomo (Mike Smith) and beaten San Vicente favorite Consolidator (Rafael Bejarano). Roman Ruler will be making his 3-year-old debut after trainer Bob Baffert has been forced to protect a cracked hoof hoof, horny epidermal casing at the end of the digits of an ungulate (hoofed) mammal. In the even-toed ungulates, such as swine, deer, and cattle, the hoof is cloven; in the odd-toed ungulates, such as the horse and the rhinoceros, it is solid. from the winter's wet tracks. Although rain is predicted today and Saturday, Baffert said he has to run Roman Ruler in the San Felipe if he plans to get to the Derby. The San Felipe field, from the rail out: Don't Get Mad, Lucky J.H., In Excelsis, Giacomo, Roman Ruler, Wilko, Golden Shine, and Consolidator. Three stakes elsewhere Saturday have Kentucky Derby implications: Afleet Alex (John Velazquez) and Rockport Harbor (Stewart Elliott) drew the inside posts and Greater Good (Jon McKee) the outside in the six-horse Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas; Sun King (Edgar Prado) will be heavily favored among eight in the Tampa Bay Derby The Tampa Bay Derby is a race for Thoroughbred race horses held in March at Tampa Bay Downs. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. ; and Galloping Grocer (Mike Luzzi) is one of nine entered in the 1-mile Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct. CAPTION(S): box Box: OUT OF THE GATE BY KEVIN MODESTI |
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