Fashion Business Heads John Henry Turf Championship

Recent grade 2 winner Fashion Business chases his second consecutive win at the level Sept. 30 in the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park.

A dedicated deep closer, Little Red Feather Racing and Marsha Naify's 4-year-old, English-bred Frankel gelding comes off the best race of his career, the Aug. 18 Del Mar Handicap Presented by The Japan Racing Association (G2T). Far back early under Flavien Prat, who retains the mount, Fashion Business charged up the rail turning for home and drew away by 5 1/4 lengths.

The Phil D'Amato trainee recorded his first graded stakes score in the 1 3/8-mile test and earned a career-high 105 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 1 1/4-mile John Henry will be the first graded attempt at Santa Anita for Fashion Business, who won a mile turf allowance there in May. He departs from the outside in a field of seven.

D'Amato also sends Ya Gotta Wanna to his second graded stakes assignment for Michael House, Aaron Sones, and Mersad Metanovic Bloodstock. Second at odds of 45-1 two starts back in the Del Mar Handicap, the Proud Citizen gelding was switched to dirt Sept. 16 for the restricted 1 1/4-mile Los Alamitos Special Stakes, where he finished fourth.

Liam the Charmer and Secretary At War, both fresh off turf allowance scores, add depth to Sunday's feature.

Idle for more than a year, Liam the Charmer rolled from far off the pace to get up by a nose in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance Aug. 16 at Del Mar. Trained by Michael McCarthy for Madaket Stables, the 5-year-old Smart Strike gelding returned after going to the shelf off an 11th in the 2017 Del Mar Handicap. His most successful runs in graded company were fourths in Santa Anita's 1 1/4-mile Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) and 1 1/2-mile San Luis Rey Stakes (G2T) in 2017.

Slam Dunk Racing's 4-year-old War Front  colt Secretary At War was based in New York for almost all of his career and was effective while laying close at middle distances. He then shipped west and debuted for trainer Richard Baltas in a mile turf allowance Aug. 18 at Del Mar, where he won by half a length after stalking the early pace. This is his first try at the 1 1/4-mile distance. 

Entries: John Henry Turf Championship S. (G2T)

Santa Anita Park, Sunday, September 30, 2018, Race 6

• Grade IIT
• 1 1/4m
• Turf
• $200,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:14 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Ritzy A. P. (KY)	Tyler Baze	121	Dan Blacker	8/1
2	2Ann Arbor Eddie (CA)	Mario Gutierrez	121	Doug F. O'Neill	6/1
3	3Ashleyluvssugar (CA)	Gary L. Stevens	121	Peter Eurton	5/1
4	4Ya Gotta Wanna (KY)	Geovanni Franco	121	Philip D'Amato	5/1
5	5Secretary At War (KY)	Drayden Van Dyke	121	Richard Baltas	5/1
6	6Liam the Charmer (KY)	Tyler Gaffalione	121	Michael W. McCarthy	7/2
7	7Fashion Business (GB)	Flavien Prat	125	Philip D'Amato	2/1