The horse Skippylongstocking has been withdrawn from Saturday's Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap after encountering difficulties boarding a flight to California. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. opted to remove the 7-year-old from the flight to avoid risks related to medication rules. This leaves a reduced field of six runners for the prestigious race.
Skippylongstocking, a 7-year-old horse with 11 graded stakes victories, including his first Grade 1 win in the Pegasus World Cup this January, was set to compete in the Santa Anita Handicap. However, issues arose during travel preparations. The horse "acted up" while boarding the flight, as confirmed by trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. to Daily Racing Form.
Joseph explained to Horse Racing Nation via text message that tranquilizing the horse was considered but ultimately rejected due to proximity to the race and strict medication regulations. "So for me, the safest decision was to take him off" the flight, he stated. Skippylongstocking disembarked in good condition and returned to his base at Palm Meadows.
Prior to the incident, the horse had been training steadily at Palm Meadows, with his most recent workout being a four-furlong breeze in 48.55 seconds on Friday. Joseph described the scratch as "a bit of a curveball and very disappointing" in comments to DRF, noting that Skippylongstocking was likely to be the favorite and that the race appeared an ideal opportunity for another Grade 1 success.
The withdrawal reduces the field to six horses. Among the remaining contenders are Getaway Car, trained by Bob Baffert, who finished second in the San Pascual Stakes (G2) last time out, and Just A Touch, who was beaten by a neck in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) under Brad Cox.