Santa Anita Park Preview | California Cup Derby 2024

                Fresh off the biggest win of his young career, Peter Miller’s Last Call London heads a wide-open field of five sophomores going a mile and one sixteenth in Saturday’s $200,000 California Chrome Cal Cup Derby at Santa Anita Park.

                The Cal Cup Derby is part of the lucrative CTBA-sponsored Golden State Series for registered California-bred or sired horses.

                First post time for a nine-race card on Cal Cup Day this Saturday, is at 12:30 p.m. with admission gates opening at 10:30 a.m.

                Extra game in taking the statebred King Glorious Stakes at one mile on Dec. 17 at Los Alamitos, Last Call London, who will be making his second two-turn start, has proven effective at Santa Anita, posting a win, a second and a third place finish from four tries here.

                Bred in California by Terry Lovingier and owned by Lovingier, Tom London and Eugene Zondlo, Last Call London is a bay gelding by top California juvenile sire Stay Thirsty and is out of the Empire Way mare Zo Lo’s Lov.

                With an overall mark of 8-2-2-2 and earnings of $156,870, it’ll be up to regular rider Juan Hernandez to work out a winning trip. 

                Second, beaten a neck by the top choice in the King Glorious, Reddam Racing’s homebred Stolen Treasure, who was ridden in his last two starts by the recently injured Edwin Maldonado, will be handled by Mario Gutierrez on Saturday.

                Trained by Edward Freeman, Stolen Treasure, who cruised to a comfortable gate to wire statebred maiden win two starts back going a mile on turf Dec. 1, will likely again try to control proceedings on the front end. 

                Bred in California by Reddam Racing and Jaimie McCalmont, Stolen Treasure is by Nyquist out of the Invincible Spirit mare Little Treasure.

                An impressive winner of his last three starts, all in open company with the last two in main track stakes at Golden Gate Fields, Steve Specht’s Wild Jewels is a sharp horse who could prove very dangerous.  Owned and bred in California by Larry and Marianne Williams, Wild Jewels is a gelding by Tamarando who pressed the pace and prevailed by a half length in the one mile Gold Rush Stakes on Dec. 2. 

                A first-out five length maiden winner going five furlongs on natural dirt at Pleasanton June 25, Wild Jewels has posted four wins and a second from six starts.  Out of the Distorted Humor mare Ribbon of Jewels, Wild Jewels has banked $148,810 and will be ridden for the first time by Golden Gate-based Frank Alvarado.

THE $200,000 CALIFORNIA CHROME CAL CUP DERBY AT SANTA ANITA, WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 4 of 9 | Approximate post time 2:00 p.m. PT

1. Last Call London – Juan Hernandez – 124
2. Mici’s Express – Umberto Rispoli – 124
3. Stolen Treasure – Mario Gutierrez – 124
4. Gentlemen’s Club – Diego Herrera – 124
5. Wild Jewels – Frank Alvarado – 124