Cal Cup Derby Among Five Stakes Jan. 11 at Santa Anita

Five stakes worth a combined $775,000 spotlight California-bred racing Jan. 11 at Santa Anita Park.

Three of those—the California Cup Derby, California Cup Oaks, and Turf Classic—are worth $175,000 apiece, while the remaining pair, the California Cup Sprint and the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf Sprint, offer purses of $125,000.

Saturday marks a day of state-bred stakes racing in both California and Florida, with Santa Anita’s sister track in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Gulfstream Park, hosting the Sunshine Classic and Sunshine Filly & Mare Turf, two $75,000 stakes for Florida-breds.

Santa Anita’s California Chrome California Cup Derby, named after Hall of Famer and 2014 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner California Chrome , drew a competitive field of eight that lured the top five finishers from the King Glorious Stakes last month at Los Alamitos Race Course.

Nick Alexander’s homebred Shea Brennan , who prevailed in that race by a nose, squares off against four other King Glorious rivals. Not one of the King Glorious quintet has yet raced the California Cup Derby’s distance of 1 1/16 miles.

Antonio Fresu rides the Phil D’Amato-trained Shea Brennan, a 3-year-old son of Tough Sunday .

Two other stakes-winning California-breds competing in $175,000 contests on Saturday include Harris Farms’ On the Whim in the 1 1/8-mile Turf Classic and Sayjay Racing’s Hey Jessie in the one-mile California Cup Oaks. Both races are on the grass. A field of 11 is entered in the Turf Classic, and 12 are in the California Cup Oaks.