Venerable 7-year-old gelding Say The World heads Saturday’s San Luis Rey Stakes
At 0h01, on March 11, 2022 • By SANTA ANITA
A formidable team on turf, trainer Phil D’Amato and jockey Flavien Prat will combine forces on Saturday with the venerable 7-year-old gelding Say the Word, as he heads a field of nine older horses going a marathon mile and one half on turf in the Grade III, $125,000 San Luis Rey Stakes at Santa Anita.
An Ontario, Canadian-bred by More Than Ready, Say the Word, second in last year’s San Luis Rey, comes off a third place finish going a mile and one quarter on turf in the Grade II San Marcos Stakes Jan. 30 and gets back to a distance he relishes, evidenced by his 6-3-2-1 record, dating back to August of 2018 at Woodbine.
A Grade I winner at Woodbine at age five, Say the Word is a three-time graded stakes winner that is best suited as a deep closer. Last ridden by Prat to a second place finish in the Grade I Shoemaker Mile five starts back on May 31, 2021, Say the Word rallied from far back under Kent Desormeaux two starts back to win the Grade II Hollywood Turf Cup at a mile and one half on Nov. 26.
Owned by Agave Racing Stable and Sam-Son Farm, Say the Word earned $353,500 last year and enters the San Luis Rey with career earnings of $849,792 from an overall mark of 34-7-4-6.
