Skippylongstocking Removed From Flight After Kicking, Scratched From Santa Anita Handicap

Skippylongstocking, the 7-year-old Exaggerator gelding trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., was taken off a charter leaving South Florida Tuesday morning after he "acted up and started kicking" while the airplane was taxiing for takeoff, and will be scratched from Saturday's $300,000 Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. called removing the horse the safest option and said Skippylongstocking was returned to his Palm Meadows base in Florida.

The flight to California was aborted and connections removed the horse from the aircraft; Skippylongstocking had drawn post 5 before being withdrawn from the Big 'Cap. Joseph said the behavior was out of character and that the decision to scratch came down to medication rules and timing with the race four days away. The gelding was sent back to Palm Meadows to be examined by the training team and stable veterinarians.

Joseph addressed the medication question directly: "We could have tranquilized him," he said. "But with the medication regulations I didn't want to take that chance just four days before the race." He added, "So for me, the safest decision was to take him off" the flight and noted, "He's never done anything like this before, so I'm not sure if it's an indication there is a problem of some sort." Joseph also reported that "physically, he appears to be fine."

With Skippylongstocking scratched, the Santa Anita Handicap field is now six horses. The remaining entrants and their assigned weights and riders are Midnight Mammoth 119 pounds with Armando Ayuso, Getaway Car 120 with Juan Hernandez, Just a Touch 121 with Florent Geroux, Vodka Vodka 116 with Kent Desormeaux, British Isles 119 with Diego Herrera, and Westwood 121 with Kazushi Kimura. Morning-line odds shifted after the scratch with Just a Touch installed at 3-2, Getaway Car 3-1, and Westwood 7-2. Getaway Car was second last out in the San Pascual G2 and Just a Touch was beaten by a neck in the Louisiana G3 most recently.

Skippylongstocking's recent form made him a likely favorite coming into the Big 'Cap. He captured the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational earlier this year, a first top-level score, and previously won the Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on May 26, 2025 with Irad Ortiz Jr. in the irons. Reports list his career highlights variously: one account says he has won 11 graded stakes, while another notes he has won 13 of 36 starts and earned over $5.4 million since debuting in June 2021. Owner Daniel Alonso purchased the horse for $37,000 at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Horsemen said Skippylongstocking had been working at Palm Meadows, most recently breezing four furlongs in 48.55 seconds on Friday, and that he will be examined before any decisions on his immediate future are made. If the exam turns up no issues, connections could reroute to the G3 Ghostzapper at Gulfstream Park on March 28 or the G2 Oaklawn Handicap on April 18. For now, the Santa Anita Handicap will run without the Pegasus winner, removing a probable favorite and altering the betting and competitive landscape for Saturday.