Santa Anita’s new turf course is open for business

Santa Anita’s new turf course is open for business.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith took Curlin Rules onto the new surface just before 10 a.m. Thursday for the first official workout on the fully rebuilt course.

Smith, who usually accentuates the positive, didn’t go off-script when asked about the surface.

“This is just like [Masters’ home] Augusta [National Golf Club],” Smith told the Santa Anita publicity department. “This colt seemed to really like it. It’s like a brand-new putting green, and it’s only going to get better and better.”

Smith took the 3-year-old colt trained by John Sadler through a half-mile in 48.80 seconds. The opening quarter was a workmanlike 24.40.

The course is a mix of Bandera and Bermuda grass.

“This grass is close-knot and uniform, and it’s designed for this climate,” said Joe Morris, vice president of West Coast Operations of the Stronach Group. “We’re pleased with the way both the hillside course and the oval look and how the grass has taken root.”

The new course will be one of the centerpieces of the Breeders’ Cup at the Arcadia track on Nov. 4 and 5.

The 23-day meeting, which opens Friday, Sept. 30, has an extraordinary card the next day with five Grade 1 races. The star will be California Chrome running in the Awesome Again Stakes. Beholder and Stellar Wind possibly will meet again in the Zenyatta Stakes. And Klimt, a 2-year-old trained by Bob Baffert with a lot of Kentucky Derby buzz, is likely to go in the FrontRunner Stakes.