Entering this year’s winter/spring meet at Santa Anita Park, Doug O’Neill ranked third all-time in wins at the track with 1,198 and was tied for eighth in stakes wins with 118. He also has won the trainer’s title nine times at Santa Anita.
Despite that abundance of success over three-plus decades, one of Santa Anita’s marquee races had eluded the 56-year-old conditioner: the Malibu Stakes (G1). That all changed Dec. 26 when Raging Torrent prevailed in the 77th edition of the sprint for 3-year-olds.
Raging Torrent won the Malibu on opening day two races after J B Strikes Back , also trained by O’Neill, took down the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes (G2). Raging Torrent kicked clear in the Malibu and won by 1 1/4 lengths under Frankie Dettori, the international riding star who also won his first Malibu.
“It was such a special day and the Malibu is such a special race. When you see the Kentucky Derby winner come out for it,”…
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