ARCADIA, Calif. - Newgrange will test the patience of anyone involved with the 4-year-old colt – his large group of owners, trainer Phil D’Amato, jockey Juan Hernandez, and his backers. On the turn of Saturday’s Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita, Newgrange faded slightly from contention, forcing Hernandez to recall his pre-race conversation with D’Amato. “Phil said, ‘Don’t give up on him,’ ” Hernandez said. Hernandez, the leading rider at the track’s winter-spring meeting, stayed active on Newgrange, who closed from third in the final furlong to win the $202,000 race for his third career stakes win. “He got a little lazy,” Hernandez said. “He started moving back. I was riding him and I knew he would fight. We made it.” For Hernandez, the San Pasqual Stakes was his third of four wins on Saturday’s nine-race program. Newgrange ($10) finished a length in front of Hopper, the 7-5 favorite who led to the final sixteenth. Hopper finished a head in front of 18-1 Parnelli, who had a chance to win in early stretch. :: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.  Newgrange ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.97. Hernandez rode Newgrange for the first time in the San Pasqual and drew D’Amato’s praise for his perseverance in the stretch. “Juan was prepared,” D’Amato said. Newgrange “changed leads and [Juan] got him in full flight and that was enough to get it done.” Hopper set a solid pace of 22.67 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.36 for a half-mile, leading by as much as 1 1/2 lengths. The San Pasqual was Hopper’s first start since a win in the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita last June. Ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Hopper held a half-length lead with a furlong remaining, but could not hold off Newgrange. “He ran his heart out,” Maldonado said. “He ran big. The timing was perfect. We hit a half-mile in 47 and change.” Parnelli, ridden by Victor Espinoza, finished in the top three for the first time in a stakes since a third in the California Derby at Golden Gate Fields in April 2021. The third-place finish was a much better performance than his final start of 2022 when he finished last of six in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar in November. The San Pasqual was the third consecutive race in which Espinoza rode Parnelli. “I’m happy with the way the horse ran,” Espinoza said. “I’ve had some disappointments with him. I have high belief in this horse.” Espinoza had Parnelli alongside Hopper in early stretch and thought he was on the winner. “I got a little excited turning for home, maybe I’ll get there right on the wire,” Espinoza said. “He will improve a lot off this race.” :: Get Santa Anita Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day.  Newgrange, by Violence, has won 5 of 8 starts and earned $747,334. Co-owned by David Bernsen, the Little Red Feather Racing partnership, and Rockingham Ranch, Newgrange was purchased for $325,000 at a horses in-training sale in Kentucky last summer. Newgrange has since won 2 of 4 starts and earned $192,000. Newgrange won two Grade 3 stakes for 3-year-olds in early 2022 when trained by Bob Baffert – the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita and the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.