Interesting Facts about Saturday's Monrovia Handicap at Santa Anita

Saturday marks the 42nd running of the Monrovia Handicap, a Grade 3 event for fillies and mares 4 years old and up. The Monrovia is run on Santa Anita's unique downhill turf course, the El Camino Real Turf Course, at about six and a half furlongs.

The race is named in honor of Santa Anita's neighboring city of Monrovia. Railroad pioneer W.N. Monroe (1841-1935) came to California from the Midwest in 1875 and purchased part of Lucky Baldwin's Rancho Santa Anita for his home. Baldwin had subdivided the eastern portion of his vast rancho into 30-acre parcels. In 1886, Monroe and four of his friends, who had also bought parcels of Baldwin's rancho, established the town of Monrovia on their combined property, laying out a 60-acre town with streets named for trees, flowers and ladies.

Society Hostess will make her third Monrovia Handicap start Saturday. She won the race in 2007 and finished second in last year's running. Trained by Cristophe Clemente (assistant trainer Nicholas Bachalard) for Moyglare Stud, Society Hostess finished sixth in the Grade 3 Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar in her last race. Jose Valdivia Jr. has the mount.

In Summation Heads Three Grade 1 Winners in El Conejo

In Summation with Nicholas Bachalard, assistant trainer to Cristophe Clemente, in the Santa Anita paddock 12/30/08.

Edited Santa Anita press release.
In Summation, fourth in October’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint, will be among three Grade I stakes winners in a field of five set to contest Santa Anita’s 28th running of the Grade III, $100,000 El Conejo Handicap at 5-1/2 furlongs on Thursday, New Year’s Day.

A newly-turned 6-year-old trained by Christophe Clemente for Waterford Stable, In Summation is the defending champion after setting a stakes record of 1:01.27 when victorious one year ago.

Rafael Bejarano will be aboard the Florida-bred who was assigned 120 pounds and will break from the outside post. In Summation has earned $1,115,066. His record of 10-6-1 in 26 starts includes a victory in Del Mar’s Grade I Bing Crosby Handicap in 2007.

Black Seventeen, seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint after taking the Grade I Vosburgh Stakes at Belmont Park, was assigned high weight of 121 pounds. Clinton Potts rides the 5-year-old trained by Brian Koriner. Black Seventeen has posted a 4-2-1 record in 11 races for earnings of $536,077.

Garrett Gomez is scheduled to ride Johnny Eves after riding the 5-year-old gelding to victory in the Nov. 22 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes, a Grade III event at Hollywood Park. Johnny Eves, victorious in Santa Anita’s Grade I Malibu Stakes in 2007, will carry 119 pounds. The California-bred, trained by Jay Robbins, shows a record of 6-4-0 in 18 starts with earnings of $485,120 for Mooncoin LLC.

The complete field for the El Conejo Handicap, with jockeys and weights in post position order: Machismo, Mike Smith, 115; Its in God’s Hands, Martin Garcia, 109; Johnny Eves, Garrett Gomez, 119; Black Seventeen, Clinton Potts, 121, and In Summation, Rafael Bejarano, 120.