Former Lukas Trainee Lemon Muffin a Longshot in Lukas

Santa Anita Park will honor the life and legacy of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas Feb. 7 as the race formerly known as the Santa Monica will be contested as the D. Wayne Lukas Stakes (G2) for the first time. If the race was to have a storybook ending, you'd want your money on Lemon Muffin. A 30-1 outsider on the morning line, the 5-year-old Collected mare owned by Julie Gilbert and Aaron and Harrison Sones carries the distinction as a former Lukas-trained runner in the $200,000 stakes over 7 furlongs, and she was an important one at that. In May 2025, she provided Lukas with his second-last victory and was also his second-last individual graded stakes winner, breaking her maiden in the 2024 Honeybee Stakes (G3) before Seize the Grey took "The Coach" to a graded winner's circle three times later that year. The odds do seem stacked against her as she makes her second start in California for trainer Patrick Gallagher after a well-beaten sixth in the Nov. 30 Bayakoa Stakes (G3), but a runner with ties to Lukas outrunning their odds would certainly be nothing new. The challenge is tough with 2025 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) winner Splendora making her 5-year-old debut for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. By Talla Racing's Audible mare rides a three-race win streak, but has displayed a case of seconditis at Santa Anita where she has a 1-4-0 record from six starts. Also in the field are the second- and third-place finishers from the Dec. 28 La Brea Stakes (G1), Formula Rossa and Simply Joking. Gas Me Up Favored in Thunder Road One race earlier, five runners are scheduled to head to post in the $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes (G3T) over a mile on the turf. Exiting a 1 1/4-length triumph when sprinting down the hill in the Dec. 29 Joe Hernandez Stakes (G2T), Gas Me Up has been listed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite while breaking from the rail. Owned by Exline-Border Racing, Michael Jawl, Aaron Kennedy, and Tom Zwiesler, the 6-year-old Hard Spun gelding has jockey Mirco Demuro back aboard for trainer Peter Eurton and has shown ability from coming far off the pace as well as sitting closer. He will likely need the latter in this small field, especially with My Way Racing's El Potente. The last time the Dan Blacker-trained son of Temple City raced a mile was in the 2025 edition of this race, prompting the pace and surging clear to a 3-length win while recording a career-best 120 Equibase Speed Figure. Grade 2 winner Watsonville, multiple stakes winner Lord Bullingdon, and multiple graded stakes-placed Namaron (GER) round out the field.