Big City Lights is set to face five opponents when he attempts to defend his title in the $100,000 Palos Verdes Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park Feb. 15, going six furlongs over the dirt. The 6-year-old son of Mr. Big earned his first career graded stakes victory when he won last year's edition of the race over the Baffert-trained Hopkins .
Hall of Famer Richard Mandella sends Big City Lights into Saturday's race in good form, coming off back-to-back wins in the Cary Grant Stakes in November, and most recently the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint Stakes Jan. 18 by a combined 16 1/4 lengths. Juan J. Hernandez has the mount for the California-bred owned by William R. Peeples.
Among the challengers Big City Lights faces is the Chilean-bred Mbagnick, who is coming off a second-place finish in the Clocker's Corner Stakes Jan. 26 for trainer Marcelo Polanco and owner Paola Stable and Stud Vendaval. Other contenders include the Doug O'Neill-trained Anarchist, a multiple graded stakes-winning son of Distorted Humor who returns to the races after a five-month break following a third-place finish in the Korea Sprint (G3) at Seoul in September for Ilium Stables.
"We intentionally gave him some time off after the ship and freshened him up," O'Neill told Santa Anita publicity. "He's come back and is training great. We're optimistic."
Anarchist is in search of his first victory since taking the seven-furlong Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar in his final start of 2023 in August of that year. He raced three times last year for owner Ilium Stables, finishing sixth in the Kelly's Landing Stakes at Churchill Downs and fifth in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) before his trip to Korea.
Anarchist will break just outside the rail-drawn favorite Big City Lights. O'Neill expects Anarchist, with Edwin Maldonado aboard, to be ideally positioned "somewhere near the leaders. He's a horse that if he's in contention at the top of the stretch, he'll fight really hard to the wire."
If Anarchist were to run well, he could be a candidate to start in the Middle East on the Dubai World Cup program April 5.
Trainer Robert Hess Jr. sends out recent allowance optional claimer victor Roll On Big Joe, who is stepping into graded stakes company for the second time in his career. Bartholdy, a 4-year-old son of Mendelssohn , enters the race off two wins with the most recent coming in an allowance optional claiming race at Santa Anita Dec. 28 for trainer Steve Knapp.
Santa Anita Park, Saturday, February 15, 2025, Race 7Entries: Palos Verdes S. (G3)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Big City Lights (CA) Juan J. Hernandez 124 Richard E. Mandella 2/5 2 2Anarchist (KY) Edwin A. Maldonado 124 Doug F. O'Neill 10/1 3 3Roll On Big Joe (FL) Umberto Rispoli 120 Robert B. Hess, Jr. 5/1 4 4Bartholdy (KY) Tyler Baze 120 Steve R. Knapp 6/1 5 5Mbagnick (CHI) Kent J. Desormeaux 124 Marcelo Polanco 20/1 6 6For All Mankind (KY) Antonio Fresu 120 John W. Sadler 8/1
