Flagstaff, Ax Man Bring Eclipse Blood Into Palos Verdes

During the week of the Eclipse Awards, two sprinters related to champions are favorites in the $200,000 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) Jan. 25 at Santa Anita Park.

Flagstaff, a 6-year-old Speightstown  gelding, is a half brother to Game Winner, the champion 2-year-old male of 2018. Ax Man, a 5-year-old gelding by Misremembered , is a half to Indian Blessing, the Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old filly of 2007 and champion female sprinter of 2008.

They bring more than noticeable pedigrees into the six-furlong race. They also boast stakes victories and speed, credentials that have made Flagstaff the morning-line 2-1 favorite, followed by Ax Man as co-second choice with Speed Pass at 5-2.

Bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Farm out of the A.P. Indy mare Indyan Giving, Flagstaff enjoyed his most productive year at 5 by winning three of five starts in 2019, though it was a loss that was arguably his best race. Competing in the Oct. 5 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G1), he finished third behind Omaha Beach  and Shancelot, two horses that ran second in their Breeders' Cup races—Omaha Beach in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and Shancelot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). 

Though Flagstaff didn't race in the Breeders' Cup, the John Sadler trainee raced on the Nov. 2 undercard, winning the Damascus Stakes over Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Roadster by a nose.

Video: Damascus S. (BT)

A versatile sprinter with wins from 5 1/2 to seven furlongs, Flagstaff has compiled a 4-2-2 record from nine starts and earnings of $243,785 for owners Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing. As a yearling in 2015, he went through The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as part of the Lane's End consignment, where Mayberry Farm signed for his purchase for $475,000.

He cuts back from seven furlongs in the Damascus to six furlongs in the Palos Verdes, carrying Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza.

Patti and Hal Earnhardt's homebred Ax Man, who won the 2018 Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico Race Course on the Preakness Stakes (G1) undercard, has been idle since finishing fifth in the March 30 San Carlos Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita. That day, he was well beaten by victorious St. Joe Bay, another Palos Verdes entrant who has not raced since that start.

Drayden Van Dyke will ride the quick-working Ax Man for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who also entered Speed Pass in the six-horse field.

A blowout winner of each of his two starts—both at Los Alamitos Race Course—for owners Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, Speed Pass is well regarded by Baffert. 

Video: Race 5 (AOC) at LRC on 12/7/19

"This is a step up, but he's a nice horse," Baffert said. "If he runs well here, I might take him to the Middle East."

There are two major races for sprinters in the Middle East this year—the $1.5 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint Feb. 29 on the Saudi Cup undercard in Saudi Arabia, and the Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News (G1) at Meydan as part of the March 28 Dubai World Cup program in Dubai.

Speed Pass will be ridden by apprentice jockey J.C. Diaz Jr., though stakes rules prohibit his mount from receiving the customary five-pound allowance given to apprentices in other types of races. He carries 120 pounds, the same as most of the competitors but two pounds less than highweight St. Joe Bay, who has Rafael Bejarano up.

Captain Scotty and Grinning Tiger complete the field. 

Entries: Palos Verdes S. (G2)

Santa Anita Park, Saturday, January 25, 2020, Race 8

• Grade II
• 6f
• Dirt
• $200,000
• 4 yo's & up
• 4:00 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Ax Man (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	120	Bob Baffert	5/2
2	2Captain Scotty (KY)	Abel Cedillo	120	Peter Miller	8/1
3	3Flagstaff (KY)	Victor Espinoza	120	John W. Sadler	2/1
4	4Grinning Tiger (OR)	UMBERTO RISPOLI	120	Anthony K. Saavedra	15/1
5	5St. Joe Bay (FL)	Rafael Bejarano	122	John W. Sadler	7/2
6	6Speed Pass (KY)	J.C. Diaz, Jr.	120	Bob Baffert	5/2