Flores’ Mounts Do Well Without Him

Jockey David Flores, named to ride five horses at Santa Anita on Wednesday, stayed home because of illness.

Finding out race results certainly couldn’t have done much to help him feel better.

Three of the horses Flores was supposed to ride won, including 2-1 second-choice Princess Belle in the $81,225 Anoakia Stakes.

Gary Stevens inherited the mount on Princess Belle, a 2-year-old daughter of Mr. Greeley trained by Bob Baffert for owners Donald and Mary Zuckerman. In Flores’ absence, Stevens also picked up second race winner Confucius and Eddie Delahoussaye directed Glorious Linda to an upset in the sixth.

Princess Belle, forced to miss the Del Mar Debutante after developing fever, tracked the pace set by Always A Lady and stablemate and even-money favorite Beauty And Style for most of the way, then accelerated through the stretch to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:09 4/5 for the six furlongs.

“She settled really nice for me and ran like a distance filly,” said Stevens, who got his second stakes win since he returned to riding Oct. 4. “She has a lot of class and acts like she wants to go on.”

Beauty And Style, who had won two in a row, finished 3 1/2 lengths in front of Bar Bon, then came Always The Lady and Lazer Storm. Skywriting was scratched Wednesday morning.

Horse Racing Notes

For the second consecutive program, there were no winning tickets for the Pick Six, so there is a carryover for today of $474,530.61. . . . Jockey Laffit Pincay’s victory aboard 22-1 longshot Maui’s Magic in the fourth race increased his record total to 8,992. . . . L’Effaceur, David Copperfield, Sign Of Hope, Jokerman and El Gran Papa are among those expected to be entered this morning for Saturday’s $250,000 Oak Tree Derby. . . . Fusaichi Pegasus galloped at Churchill Downs Wednesday morning and trainer Neil Drysdale said he plans on having workouts for the Kentucky Derby “two or three times” before the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 4. “It will depend on the weather and the track,” Drysdale said. . . . Post-race examination of Heritage Of Gold, who ran poorly as the favorite in Saturday’s Spinster at Keeneland, found no physical problems and the mare is expected to run in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.