Approval Achieves Two-Peat

T.H. Approval has only two wins in a dozen starts on the Santa Anita turf course, but the 5-year-old gray horse has made his victories count.

The son of With Approval became the first repeat winner in the $250,000 San Juan Capistrano in nearly 40 years with a one-length win over One Off and 11 others on the final day of the winter-spring meet at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Owned by breeder Tadahiro Hotehama and trained by Eduardo Inda, T.H. Approval became the fifth horse to win the San Juan twice, joining Mioland, Intent, George Royal and Niarkos, who won the race in 1967 and ’68.

Ridden by Alex Solis, T.H. Approval, the 6-5 favorite, ran the about 1 3/4 miles on turf in 2:45.29. This was the third victory in the race for Solis and, the way things have gone, look for him again in the 2016 Capistrano. His wins have come 10 years apart.

Before Sunday, he had scored with Dahar in 1986, then Raintrap in 1996.

“We had a great trip,” Solis said. “He was so good today. Eduardo has done a great job with him. I love this horse. He’s so great to ride.

“Eduardo gets all the credit. He’s such a cool horse and that’s good for this kind of race because he relaxes very well.”

*

Jockey Patrick Valenzuela led the Santa Anita meet for the second year in a row and for the third time in the last four years, registering 77 wins, three more than Victor Espinoza.

The leading trainer for a second consecutive year was Doug O’Neill, who finished with 50 victories, 10 more than runner-up Bob Baffert.

*

Blessed with much better weather than it had a year ago, Santa Anita showed significant gains in both attendance and handle during its 86-day season.

The on-track attendance of the meet increased 15% over 2004-05. That was the largest gain in that area since 1945.

The daily on-track handle was up 11% from the previous year, and the total handle was up 9%.

*

With a City, the 49-1 winner of the Lane’s End on March 25 at Turfway Park, was euthanized Sunday morning because of an unknown illness.

A 3-year-old son of City Zip owned by Ron Peltz’s Equirace.com and trained by Mike Maker, With a City was being pointed to the Kentucky Derby on May 6 at Churchill Downs despite finishing last in the Arkansas Derby nine days ago at Oaklawn Park.

According to Maker, With a City became ill Thursday and was taken to an equine medical facility in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, but his health continued to deteriorate.

“They treated him for everything and ran tests on everything,” Maker said. “Hopefully, a necropsy will tell us more, but their feeling right now is that they are not sure they will be able to tell.”

*

With the conclusion of Santa Anita, jockey Garrett Gomez will be riding first call for trainer Todd Pletcher while John Velazquez, Pletcher’s main man, recovers from injuries suffered in a spill last Thursday at Keeneland.

The leading money-earning jockey in the country in 2006 with purses totaling more than $4.58 million, Gomez will be riding primarily in Kentucky and New York.

He has three mounts on Wednesday at Keeneland and will ride Wait a While for Pletcher in the Kentucky Oaks on May 5 at Churchill Downs.

“What works out well is that he is able to come and fill in at the end of Keeneland [which concludes Friday] and during Derby week,” Pletcher told Thoroughbred Times. “Then, Garrett will go to New York and pick up the majority of the slack until John comes back.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Up next

Southern California horse racing shifts to Hollywood Park for the spring/summer meeting in Inglewood:

Dates: Wednesday through July 16 (61 days). Regular race schedule is Wednesdays through Sundays; special racing on (Mondays) May 15, 29 and July 3, and (Tuesday) July 4.

* Post times: 1:20 p.m. with these exceptions: 7 p.m. Fridays except May 5; 12:30 p.m. on April 30; noon on May 6, July 1, July 2 and July 8.

* Significant races: $1.31-million program on California Gold Rush Day (April 30); $250,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap (May 13); $300,000 Shoemaker Breeders’ Cup Mile (May 29); $300,000 Gamely Breeders’ Cup Handicap (May 29), $300,000 Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap (June 10), $750,000 American Oaks (July 2), $300,000 Vanity Handicap (July 2), $300,000 Triple Bend Handicap (July 2), $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup (July 8).

* Leading jockey (2005 meet): Garrett Gomez, 62 wins.

* Leading trainer (2005 meet): Doug O’Neill, 31 wins.