(Express Train / Benoit Photo & Courtesy of Santa Anita)

From the Santa Anita Media Team / Victor Ryan:

• EXPRESS TRAIN BACK FOR ANOTHER GO IN GI BIG ‘CAP – • WORKS: GAMING DRILLS BULLET FROM THE GATE FOR BAFFERT – • BIG ‘CAP SATURDAY:FIRST POST IS 12 P.M. FOR 11-RACE CARD– • FRIDAY’S $1 COAST-TO-COAST PICK 5 STARTS AT 1:07 P.M. PT

EXPRESS TRAIN BACK FOR ANOTHER GO IN GI BIG ‘CAP

Three years ago, the career of Express Train reached a pinnacle when winning the historic Grade I Santa Anita Handicap. On Saturday, the now 8-year-old will try and become the oldest horse to ever win the historic Big ‘Cap, which dates to Santa Anita’s inaugural season in 1934.

The trip back to the 1 ¼-mile Big ‘Cap hasn’t been easy for Express Train. He missed the entirety of the 2023 season before finally returning to the races in late April of 2024. Since then, he has been judiciously handled by trainer John Shirreffs.

Express Train made just three starts last year, ending with a fourth-place finish in the GII Laffit Pincay Jr. going 1 1/16 miles on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Then on Jan. 25 at Santa Anita, Express Train flashed some of his old form with an encouraging second-place effort in the GII San Pasqual going 1 1/8 miles.

“It’s been great to have him back. Very satisfying,” Shirreffs said Friday morning. “He’s such a good-looking horse and has a lot of brilliance to him. Working with that type of horse is always exciting.”

In the San Pasqual, Express Train raced up close to what was a hot pace. He seized the lead with a furlong to go, but could not hold off the oncoming Katonah, who took advantage of the early tempo by rallying from last.

“I thought he ran well and it was an improvement from (the Pincay),” Shirreffs said. “I thought he ran well enough to run him back in the Big ‘Cap. I would have liked to have seen him finish maybe just a little better, but I think having that race under his belt should help him immensely.”

Express Train, who is owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s C R K Stable, has come back with a string of good works including a five-furlong drill in a swift 59.80 seconds last Sunday at Santa Anita.

“He’s training great,” said Shirreffs, who this year is again a finalist for induction into the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Express Train is listed at 10-1 on the morning line for the Big ‘Cap and will again be ridden by Hector Berrios, who was also aboard in the San Pasqual. They will break from the rail in a nine-horse field, which Shirreffs acknowledged is not ideal. “I don’t know any trainer that likes getting the one hole,” he said. “Automatically there’s going to be a lot of dirt involved. But it’s a long run-up to the first turn and there’s a lot of speed in the race, so hopefully they can separate a little bit.” Express Train enters the Big ‘Cap with a record of 24: 7-6-5 and $1,543,800 in earnings. If he were to win, he’d join Game on Dude as the only horses to win multiple Big ‘Caps in non-consecutive years. Game on Dude won the Big ‘Cap in 2011 and then again in 2013 and 2014.

The Santa Anita Handicap goes as the 10th race Saturday with post time at approximately 4:47 p.m. PT. The field in post position order: Express Train, Hector Berrios (10-1); New King, Mike Smith (8-1); Hit Show, Flavien Prat (5-2); J B Strikes Back, Antonio Fresu (30-1); Mirahmadi, Juan Hernandez (6-1); Katonah, Tiago Periera (8-1); Locked, Jose Ortiz (3-2); Midnight Mammoth, Armando Ayuso (30-1); Tarantino, Edwin Maldonado (12-1).

GAMING ERNIE BELMONTE

WORKS: GAMING DRILLS A BULLET FROM THE GATE FOR BAFFERT

Graded stakes winner Gaming, who finished last at 2-1 in the GIII Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park Jan. 25, worked a bullet for the second consecutive week Friday at Santa Anita. Trained by Bob Baffert, Gaming drilled six furlongs from the gate in a sharp 1:11.80. Last Friday, Gaming worked five furlongs in 59.40 seconds.

Gaming last year was an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding 2-year-old male. He won the GI Del Mar Futurity in September before finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar and third in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity in December to close out the year. By Game Winner, Gaming is 5: 2-1-1 with $614,000 in earnings for owners Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.

Also working were multiple stakes winner Artislas and Bartholdy, most recently third as the 3-2 favorite in the GIII Palos Verdes Feb. 15.

Artislas, trained by Jeff Mullins, worked three furlongs on the training track in 36.80 seconds. A 3-year-old colt by Catalina Cruiser, Artislas most recently won the Eddie Logan Stakes going a mile on turf Dec. 29 at Sant Anita. He also last year won the GIII Del Mar Juvenile Turf in September and was disqualified from victory in the GIII Zuma Beach in October at Santa Anita after a bumping incident near the stretch. Artislas is owned by Irving Ventures LLC, Michele Arthur, William Meathe and Jeanne Tumanjan.

Bartholdy, trained and co-owned by Steve Knapp, drilled five furlongs in 1:01.0. It was his first work since the Palos Verdes. In the Palos Verdes going six furlongs, Bartholdy took up a stalking position and then never really threatened when finishing 4 ¾ lengths back of winner Roll On Big Joe. The 4-year-old gelding by Mendelssohn is 15: 3-3-1 with $160,280 in earnings. There were a combined 96 workouts Friday between the main track and training track.

FINISH LINES: First post Saturday is 12 p.m. PT for a sparkling 11-race card featuring four graded stakes…Saturday’s GII DK Horse San Felipe Stakes will be aired live on CNBC and streamed on Peacock. It will be part of a 2-hour broadcast starting at 2 p.m. PT…Friday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:07 p.m. PT with the seventh race from Gulfstream Park…Nominations close Friday for next weekend’s GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile, GIII San Simeon and Pasadena Stakes…John Avello, director of Race & Sports Operation for DraftKings, will be host Tom Quigley’s handicapping guest Saturday on the Santa Anita simulcast feed starting at 10:50 a.m.