ARCADIA, Calif. – For a trainer who spent Saturday afternoon trekking to the Santa Anita winner’s circle three times after graded stakes and four times overall, both personal bests, Michael McCarthy had a typical morning overseeing his stable on Sunday. There was much to reflect on from the milestones of the preceding day when Liguria won the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes for fillies and mares on turf, Formidable Man won the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile on turf, and Journalism emphasized his status as a leading contender for the Triple Crown races with a flashy win in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes. “To be Big Cap day makes it more special,” McCarthy said, referring to the day’s centerpiece race, the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more McCarthy did not have a Big Cap runner, but did win the preceding two races with Journalism and Formidable Man, and the day’s final race, an allowance race on turf, with Phosphorescence. Journalism was the stable’s star on Saturday, closing from fourth of five to catch the previously unbeaten Barnes. Journalism won by 1 3/4 lengths in his first start since a win in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December. Journalism, who ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.24, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 108, which equals the figure Magnitude earned in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 15 as the highest of the year by a 3-year-old. Journalism is scheduled to return in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles on April 5, the West Coast’s leading prep race for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3. In the San Felipe, Journalism closed from 2 1/2 lengths off the pace on the turn to catch Barnes in the final sixteenth. “It took a while to get his feet underneath him,” McCarthy said. “Once he leveled off in the lane, he went through the gears. It makes you think that at a mile and an eighth, he’d be effective and who knows beyond that.” In the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby, Journalism is likely to race against Citizen Bull, the champion 2-year-old male of 2024, and Baeza, an exciting maiden race winner on Feb. 14. “Citizen Bull, his reputation speaks for itself,” McCarthy said, assessing the national division. “There may be no stand outs at the moment. I guess it would be Citizen Bull and a bunch of horses right behind him that are very good.” As for Journalism, McCarthy ranks him, “right there with all of them.” Journalism’s win occurred a week after the stable’s highly-regarded Bullard was scratched from the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 22 because of illness. “I tried shipping last week and it didn’t work out in my favor,” McCarthy said of Bullard. “Bad timing. Bad, bad timing on a horse that I thought have been training as well as a horse could train. “We’ll get him back on the work tab and figure it out.” Barnes was beaten for the first time in his third start, and first race around two turns, in the San Felipe, a loss that did not discourage trainer Bob Baffert. “He’ll move forward off of that,” Baffert said on Sunday. “I think he’ll get a lot out of that. “He lost a shoe coming out of the gate. I’m not using that as an excuse.” For the loss, Barnes earned a career-best Beyer of 105. Formidable Man became the first 4-year-old since Hit the Road in 2021 to win the $301,000 Frank Kilroe Mile, Santa Anita’s richest stakes on turf for the winter-spring meeting. Formidable Man was last of 12 in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25 after setting a quick pace, a loss ended a three-race winning streak consisting of stakes for 3-year-olds at Del Mar in the second half of 2024. In the Kilroe Mile, Formidable Man (5-1) closed from sixth of seven in the final furlong to win by a half-length over 23-1 Zio Jo. The win left McCarthy thinking about a start in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic, a $1 million race at 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs on May 3, or the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf at Santa Anita on May 26. The Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on Nov. 1 is a long-range hope. “His record at Del Mar speaks for itself,” McCarthy said. “He’s a maturing horse.” Liguria won for the first time since June 2023 in the Buena Vista, her second start for McCarthy after a layoff of more than 15 months. The Grade 1 Gamely Stakes, a $300,000 race for fillies and mares on turf at 1 1/8 miles, at Santa Anita on May 26 is likely to be in Liguria’s future, McCarthy said. The four-win day propelled McCarthy into 15th place in the nation in stable earnings for the year through Saturday, with more than $1.15 million. Last year, McCarthy finished 22nd with earnings of more than $6.7 million, just shy of a personal best of more than $6.9 million in 2021. Saturday’s milestone day comes slightly less than two months after the 54-year-old McCarthy, his wife and their teenage daughter were displaced from their nearby home in Altadena, Calif., because of the dreadful wildfires that struck the Los Angeles area in early January. The house did not sustain major damage, but is in a neighborhood severely affected by the fires. The McCarthys have been staying nearby with family and will do so for a period of time. McCarthy said it “will be awhile” before his family can return to the home. “It puts some things in perspective,” he said. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.