Moger Takes Stable Stars on Road Trip to Santa Anita

At about noon Thursday, trainer Ed Moger Jr. was behind the wheel of a horse van on the 210 freeway making his way to Santa Anita from Golden Gate. In tow for the eight-hour trip south were Chase the Chaos, winner of last month's El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate, and millionaire Stilleto Boy for their respective stakes engagements Saturday at Santa Anita.

"We're coming and ready to go," Moger said.

Also onboard the van was Tarantino, who will run in a second-level allowance on turf here Saturday.

Stilleto Boy returns to The Great Race Place for another crack at the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava Resort and Casino. Chase the Chaos, who earned his first stakes win in the Feb. 11 El Camino Real over Golden Gate's synthetic main track, will get tested on dirt in the Grade II San Felipe for 3-year-olds.

Chase the Chaos enters the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe having won two straight Races. In the El Camino Real going 1 1/16 miles, the Pennsylvania-bred by Astute uncorked a winning rally under Armando Ayuso to score by 1 ½ lengths over the heavy favorite Gilmore trained by Bob Baffert.

Following the El Camino Real Derby, which provided an automatic berth in the Preakness Stakes, Moger initially indicated the colt's next start would likely be either the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on April 8 or the Grade III Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on March 25, which is also run on a synthetic track. But after watching two follow-up works at Golden Gate from Chase the Chaos, Moger zeroed in on the San Felipe, which is a point-paying prep for the Kentucky Derby.

"We could have waited for the Santa Anita Derby or Jeff Ruby, but the horse came out in such great shape there was really no reason to wait," Moger said.

Chase the Chaos drew the rail for the San Felipe and is 12-1 on the morning line. Ayuso will again be in the irons. He will be trying dirt for the first time since his debut at Canterbury Park on Aug. 28 for former trainer Robertino Diodoro. Catching a muddy track on a race taken off the turf that day, Chase the Chaos finished second as the 5-2 favorite.

"From what I've seen, I think he'll run on anything," Moger said. "In his debut he was between horses with mud flying everywhere and finished second. Then he broke his maiden on turf and has won twice for us on synthetic. This horse has run good every single race. I'm not worried about the surface."

Owned by Adam Ference and Bill Dory, Chase the Chaos has a record of 3-2-1 in six starts. He made his first two starts at Canterbury for Diodoro before being transferred. At Golden Gate, prior to his two-race win streak, Chase the Chaos was third in the six-furlong Golden Nugget Stakes and second in the Gold Rush Stakes going a two-turn mile.

"This horse was in great shape when he got to my barn and has continued to improve," said Moger, who is hoping Chase the Chaos becomes his first starter in a Triple Crown race. "I really liked him right off the bat. Then after seeing him train for a little bit I thought, 'Wow, this is a nice horse."

After the San Felipe goes as Saturday's sixth race on a 12-race card, Moger will be back for the nightcap to saddle Stilleto Boy in the 1 ¼-mile Santa Anita Handicap. Last year, Stilleto Boy was third in the Big Cap behind winner Express Train and Warrant, the latter of whom is also back this year.

Most recently, Stilleto Boy finished a solid third after setting the pace in the Grade I Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.

"I thought he ran great in the Pegasus. The 11 hole is a tough post there. You go right into the first turn going a mile-and-an-eighth," Moger noted. "I think if we had an inside post, we might have had a chance to win."

Stilleto Boy is owned by Moger's brother Steve Moger.  The 5-year-old Shackleford gelding has banked $1,411,675 in his career with a record of 3-4-8 in 20 starts. While his only graded stakes win came in last year's Grade II Californian at Santa Anita, Stilleto Boy has competed in eight Grade Is and hit the board in five of those efforts.

"He's been a blast," Ed Moger said of the highest-earning horse he's ever trained. "We ran in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Pegasus twice. He's a talented horse. Just not quite good enough to beat the likes of a Flightline, Country Grammar or Life Is Good."

Stilleto Boy will be ridden in the Big Cap by Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, who in 2021 was aboard for multiple starts including the Breeders' Cup Classic. Stilleto Boy is the 5-1 fourth choice in a field of 11.

"He's been doing really, really good since the Pegasus," Moger said. "He couldn't be better."