(So Happy before Saturday’s G2 San Felipe Stakes / Benoit Photo & Courtesy of Santa Anita Park)

From the Santa Anita Park Media Team / Victor Ryan:

SO HAPPY, SECURED FREEDOM LIKELY ON TO SANTA ANITA DERBY • HERNANDEZ WINS 4 INCLUDING 3 STAKES ON B’DAY; HERRERA WINS GI • $67K CARRYOVER IN SUNDAY’S $2 PICK 6; FREE PP’S AVAILABLE • BIG CAP ATTENDANCE HIGHEST SINCE ’19; ON-TRACK HANDLE UP 11% • HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY TO JAY COHEN, SA’S BELOVED BUGLER

SO HAPPY, SECURED FREEDOM LIKELY ON TO SANTA ANITA DEBRY So Happy and Secured Freedom, the respective third- and four-place finishers in Saturday’s GII San Felipe, will likely continue on to the GI Santa Anita Derby on April 4, their respective trainers said Sunday morning.

So Happy, trained by Mark Glatt, was making his two-turn debut in the 1 1/16 San Felipe. He finished some 2 ¼ lengths back of winner Potente. Splitting that pair in second was Robusta, a 67-1 longshot who was beaten just a head by Potente.

So Happy pressed a lively pace set by Brant—who wound up weakening to fifth—and was just a half-length back of Robusta at the eighth pole before both were overhauled by Potente.

“He looks good this morning,” Glatt said of So Happy. “I think we’re likely to look at the Derby, yeah. He ran good. I think it was a solid effort pressing a fairly quick pace and being his first time around two turns. I think it will be interesting to see the second time around two turns now having that experience. We’ll see if he can improve.”

Potente, trained by Bob Baffert, was making just his second start in the San Felipe and first around two turns. A $2.4 million colt by Into Mischief, Potente won in a time of 1:42.92. The effort earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free. Potente earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby with the win, which should be more than enough to qualify. Baffert said Potente would have one more start before the May Kentucky Derby, also possibly the Santa Anita Derby.

Robusta’s trainer, Doug O’Neill, said from the winner’s circle the colt by Accelerate would go on to the Santa Anita Derby. He previously finished sixth in the GIII Robert B. Lewis going one mile on Feb. 7. In the San Felipe, Robusta was outfitted in blinkers for the first time. O’Neill said the equipment change “made the difference.”

On Sunday morning, O’Neill’s assistant Leandro Mora reported Robusta, “Is doing great. We’re moving on.”

Secured Freedom, trained by Tim Yakteen, stalked the pace while down inside and finished evenly. He was beaten about 3 ½ lengths.

“I was expecting a little more from him. He sort of flattened out in the lane,” Yakteen said Sunday. “It could be some maturity involved and being down inside. But he’s come back in excellent shape. We’re looking forward to see if we can get him back on track and see an improved effort.”

By Practical Joke, Secured Freedom previously was third in the GIII Robert B. Lewis.

HERNANDEZ WINS 4 INCLUDING 3 STAKES ON B’DAY; HERERRA GETS A GI Jockey Juan Hernandez had a monster day Saturday at Santa Anita. On his 34th birthday, no less. Hernandez, a native of Veracruz won four races on Saturdays 11-race program including three of the four graded stakes.

Hernandez’s three stakes wins came in the GI B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile with Splendora and GII San Felipe on Potente, both for trainer Bob Baffert; and the GII Frank E. Kilroe Mile with longshot Final Boss ($65.40) for trainer John Sadler.

Hernandez had a quite evening after the massive day and was back out early Sunday morning at Santa Anita working horses.

“It was a great day. Maybe I can do something Monday or Tuesday to celebrate,” Hernandez said. Also on Saturday, fellow reinsman Diego Herrera achieved a career milestone. In the Santa Anita Handicap, Herrera piloted British Isles ($16.40) to victory for his first Grade I win in a Thoroughbred race.

“I don’t even have any words, it is just such a blessing,” Herrera said from the winner’s circle. “Thank God that everything came together today.”

Herrera, who turns 22 in May, is from nearby Inglewood. He got his start riding quarter horses at Los Alamitos in 2021. In 2022, Herrera won the Grade I Charger Bar for quarter horses at Los Alamitos aboard Kiss Thru Fire. His only previous Thoroughbred graded-stakes wins were last year’s GIII Cecil B. DeMille aboard Unrivaled Time and the 2024 GIII Autumn Miss with Watchtower. Entering Sunday, Herrera had won 257 Thoroughbred races with earnings of more than $12.2 million.

G CAP ATTENDANCE HIGHEST SINCE ’19; ON-TRACK HANDLE UP 11% Attendance and on-track handle were both up for Saturday’s Santa Anita Handicap Day program. The 11-race card, which features four graded stakes including the historic Grade I Big Cap, attracted a crowd of 19,112, the highest Big Cap Day attendance since 2019. It was an almost nine percent increase from last year’s on-track crowd of 16,862. Handle on-track Saturday was $1,776,808, an 11 percent jump from 2025’s total of $1,604,724.

$67K CARRYOVER IN SUNDAY’S $2 PICK 6; FREE PP’S AVAILABLE Multiple longshot winners on Saturday’s program at Santa Anita sparked a $67,798 carryover for Sunday’s $2 Pick Six at The Great Race Place. First post is 1 p.m. PT for an 11-race card. The Pick Six starts at 2:36 p.m. with the fourth race. Track officials estimate a total Pick Six pool of $500,000.

To help make informed selections, free past performances are available courtesy of Daily Racing Form. They can be accessed at https://promos.drf.com/santaanita25.

The carryover was clinched in Saturday’s 10th and penultimate race when British Isles, ridden by Diego Herrera for trainer Richard Baltas, won the GI Santa Anita Handicap and paid $16.40. One race earlier, the John Sadler-trained Final Boss won the GII Frank E. Kilroe Mile under Juan Hernandez and paid $65.40.

After the carryover was clinched, Keithing Thunder—ridden by Tyler Baze for trainer Brendan Galvin—won the nightcap and paid $46.20. As a result of that victory, the consolation payout went to tickets with just four of six winners. It returned $558.60.

The winning horses in Saturday’s Pick Six starting with the sixth race were #1 Crude Velocity ($23), #1 Mo Sasha ($4), #5 Potente ($18.20), #7 Final Boss ($65.40), #6 British Isles ($16.40) and #4 Keithing Thunder ($46.20).

FINISH LINES: Santa Anita’s popular bugler Jay Cohen is celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday. Outfitted in his iconic red jacket, Cohen has been calling the horses to post at Santa Anita since 1987…Sunday’s $1 Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 starts at 1:54 p.m. PT with the ninth race from Gulfstream Park…The $1 Sunset Pick Six starts at 1:23 p.m. with the eighth race from Gulfstream. Saturday’s Sunset Pick Six–which had two-day carryover—paid $205,140 for a single winning ticket. The ticket was purchased for $1,440 in Las Vegas, according to an X post from Santa Anita’s Tom Quigley,…Next week’s stakes slate includes the GIII San Simeon on Saturday for older horses sprinting on the hillside turf course and the GIII Santa Ana on Sunday, which is for fillies and mares going 1 ¼ miles on turf.