‘Shocking’ win caps emotional day at Santa Anita

ARCADIA — Santa Anita’s annual showcase for California’s finest native racehorses turned into a tribute to one of the state’s favorite horsemen Saturday.

The memory of Don Valpredo, the thoroughbred breeder, owner and industry leader who died at age 85 on Oct. 31, added meaning to California Cup day, when one race was named in his honor and two others were won by his family’s horses.

The big winner was Shocking Grey, a 6-year-old mare bred by Valpredo and owned by the Valpredo Family Trust who paid $19 for her victory with jockey Antonio Fresu in the $125,000 Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Sprint.

“I just got done crying,” Alexis Moseley, the youngest of three children of Valpredo and his wife Sally, said in the winner’s circle after accepting the trophy for Shocking Grey’s 2 1/4-length victory over favorite Stay and Scam.

Earlier, the 4-year-old filly Mayakama, also bred by Valpredo and owned by his heirs, sprinted to her first victory on the fourth try under jockey Juan Hernandez and paid $3.40.

Then there was the stakes annually named the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint. Big City Lights ($2.20) and Flavien Prat won the $125,000 race as easily as expected, by 7 3/4 lengths over Clovisconnection. Trainer Richard Mandella lit up when asked about the race’s namesake.

“He always had something to say. Pretty funny, usually,” Mandella said of Valpredo, the third-generation horseman from Bakersfield whose best horses included Soviet Problem and who served as president of the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and on the California Horse Racing Board.

The win aboard Shocking Grey was one of three overall and two in Cal Cup stakes for Fresu, who also rallied the 6-year-old gelding Old Pal ($5.60) to a one-length victory in the $175,000 Unusual Heat Turf Classic.

It appeared Fresu had won a fourth overall and third in a stakes when he and Shea Brennan crossed the finish a neck in front of Whiskyginandbrandy and Tiago Pereira in the $175,000 California Chrome Cal Cup Derby. But Shea Brennan was disqualified and placed second for veering out and bumping the runner-up as both were closing in on pacesetter Style Cat at the top of the stretch. Whiskyginandbrandy paid $42.20.

With Take Another Card ($5.80) and Hector Berrios survived traffic to take the $175,000 Leigh Ann Howard Cal Cup Oaks, favorites won three of the five Cal Cup stakes, helping to keep the rate of winning favorites during the 11-day-old Santa Anita season at an astonishing 49%.

But the upsets by Shocking Grey and Whiskyginandbrandy kept any bettors from sweeping the pick-six, creating the first carryover of the meet. The pick-six on Sunday’s sixth through 11th races will start with $52,050.60 in the pool.

Cal Cup Day was postponed for a week when Santa Anita called off races Jan. 10-11-12 in the early days of the Los Angeles-area wildfires. On-site attendance (5,436) and total betting ($9.9 million) were lower than for Cal Cup Day in 2024 but higher than for the corresponding Saturday a year ago.

The postponement caused some changes in the lineups for the Cal Cup stakes, the most dramatic being that trainer Jeff Mullins entered Shocking Grey in the Filly and Mare Turf Sprint after not entering her for the original date.

Timing was on the Shocking Grey’s team’s side in another way: The win, the first at the stakes level for the daughter of Grazen and Seoul Unbridled, should add to her value as she and 21 other Valpredo-owned horses enter a dispersal auction at the CTBA Winter Mixed Sale in Pomona on Tuesday.

“It makes her worth a little more as a broodmare,” trainer Jeff Mullins said, though he thinks whether she continues to race will depend on who buys her.

Mullins credited tactics for Shocking Grey’s improvement following eight straight defeats under five different jockeys. He said he had instructed several riders to keep the mare in the clear, and Fresu was the first to follow orders.

“He just told me the key with this field was to get her to the outside, to let her be free,” said Fresu, who stalked leaders Barbera and Stay and Scam after starting from post 5 in a field of eight.

The win made it a memorable day for Don Valpredo’s family.

“It is such an honor to be representing (him) today,” Moseley said, “and have two wins in our pocket.”