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The three Grade 1s at Santa Anita on Monday did not disappoint.

First off in the Gamely the Brazilian-bred daughter of Japanese sire Hat Trick provided a dominant finish to the race under compatriot jockey Tiago Pereira.  Quattroelle chased but still was a length away from the winner at the line and favourite Queen Goddess came home in third.

The Shoemaker Mile went to the Peter Eurton trained Exaulted and provided jockey Juan Hernandez with the first of two wins in the top races.  Irideo tried gamely to catch the winner and showed great fortitude in the finish, with favourite Hong Kong Harry third.

The Gold Cup saw Bob Baffert collect his 9th win in this race with Defunded, Juan Hernandez's second winner.  Defunded cost around US$200,000 and by now must have refunded this money to his owners!  Piroli was the unheralded runner who pushed Defunded all the way although the winner had led from the start.  Even less heralded Kiss Today Goodbye under Hector Berrios (who placed in all three Gr 1s) denied Country

Grammer the third spot.

There have been two more deaths on the track at Churchill Downs and there is much angst but little positive thought coming through.  A suggestion that American racing should switch to artificial surfaces has been made as they argued that the safety record is better but they fail to mention what type of artificial surface and other factors involved in the design of the tracks.  There are many other factors to consider in this argument including the medication given to American horses which in many cases has masked pre-existing injuries.