Smith rises to the stakes again

Nearly halfway through the Oak Tree meet, no jockey has been more successful in stakes races than Mike Smith.

The Hall of Fame rider picked up his third stakes win in a span of 15 racing days, directing 10-1 shot Daytona to a decisive victory in the $150,000 Oak Tree Derby on Saturday at Santa Anita.

The win came two weeks after more significant victories with Cry And Catch Me in the Oak Leaf and Tiago in the Goodwood.

In a Grade II that looked extremely competitive on paper, Daytona was dominant, bursting away from the field early in the stretch en route to a 4 1/4 -length victory. Owned by James Davenport, Tom Lenner and Jess Ravich and trained by Dan Hendricks, the 3-year-old Indian Ridge gelding won for the third time in nine starts. He ran the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:46.40. Ten A Penny finished second and 5-2 favorite Stoneside checked in third.

“[Lenner] is a really good friend of mine and this is really a thrill to win for him,� said Smith, who has only four non-stakes victories at the meet. “Dan said just to keep him happy and if he’s happy, he’s got some turn of foot.

“Believe me, he does have some turn of foot. When we opened up there at the top of the stretch, I was expecting somebody to come after us. I looked over at the big screen [in the infield] and said, ‘Man, this is sweet.’ There was nobody coming.�

Hendricks indicated Daytona, who won once in three starts in England before coming to the U.S. this year, will probably make his next start in the $500,000 Hollywood Derby on Nov. 25 at Hollywood Park.

In the day’s co-feature in Arcadia, Stormin Away, another 10-1 shot, out-finished favored Storm Military to win the $67,150 War Chant Stakes.

Martin Garcia rode the 5-year-old Skip Away gelding to his eighth win in 28 starts, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in 1:35.29 for the mile on grass.

The upsets by Daytona and Stormin Away helped trigger a pick six carry-over of $132,412 for today.

Five weeks after finishing second in her Grade I debut in the Garden City at Belmont Park, Bit Of Whimsy earned the biggest victory of her career, running past 2-1 Dreaming Of Anna late to take the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland.

Trained by Barclay Tagg for owners Joyce Young and Gerald McManis, the 3-year-old Distorted Humor filly won for the third time in six starts.

Ridden by Javier Castellano, the 6-1 shot ran the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:48.73.

The loss was only the second in seven races on grass for Dreaming Of Anna, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2006. Coquerelle, a Group 1 winner from France making her first start in the U.S., finished third.

Two races earlier, Steve’s Double, a 12-1 shot, held off favored Les Grands Trois by a half-length to win the $200,000 Perryville.

Jamie Theriot rode the 3-year-old Stephen Got Even gelding to his third triumph in seven starts for Oxbow Racing LLC and trainer Ronny Werner. Steve’s Double covered the distance, about seven furlongs, in the Grade III in 1:25.36.

Criminologist, the 2-1 second choice, won her third in a row on the turf and did so easily, winning the $109,000 Athenia Handicap, a Grade III, by 4 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park.

The win was the fifth in eight starts on grass for the 4-year-old Maria’s Mon filly, who is owned and was bred by the Phipps Stable and Stuart Janney III and is trained by Shug McGaughey.

--

[email protected]