ARCADIA, Calif. -- Diego Herrera rode his final day as an apprentice at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Herrera’s apprentice term ends on April 24, six days before the next program of live racing at Santa Anita. Herrera, 17, plans to ride at Los Alamitos next weekend, but otherwise plans to work horses in the mornings at Santa Anita and take a slower pace before racing resumes.

“I might get some time with my family,” he said.

He is ready for a slower pace after a hectic 14 months in which he has ridden an astonishing 1,030 races.

ARCADIA, Calif. -- The person most surprised that Fly the Sky won Saturday’s seventh race at Santa Anita may have been winning jockey Juan Hernandez.

Hernandez was nearly unseated at the start of a starter allowance at 1 1/8 miles on turf when Fly the Sky stumbled. Hernandez made a spectacular recovery to stay aboard. That alone was remarkable until Hernandez regained his balance, secured his feet back in the irons, and settled into riding Fly the Sky.

Ecrivain, a French group stakes winner who was third in his American debut last month, is scheduled to start in the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields on April 30.

Trainer Richard Mandella said Sunday that he plans to start Ecrivain in the $250,000 San Francisco Mile on turf instead of Subconscious, who was third by a neck in the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita on March 5.

Subconscious will be pointed to the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on turf on May 30.

ARCADIA, Calif. - There is no live racing at Santa Anita next weekend, but there were plenty of notable workouts at the track on Sunday for the next day of racing on April 30 and later this spring.

Following Sunday’s program, the track will not race this Friday through Sunday or on April 29 to give the horse population, and the turf course, a rest in advance of the final eight weeks of the meeting. The season ends on June 19.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Mystic Guide, winner of the 2021 Dubai World Cup but unraced since last July, returned to the worktab on Saturday morning at Keeneland.

The 5-year-old Mystic Guide, a Godolphin homebred trained by Michael Stidham, went three furlongs in 36 1/5 seconds.

“He did it within himself,” Stidham said. “Really easy, comfortable work. Came back and didn’t take a deep breath, cooled out good. So we’re hopefully on our way.”

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Champion Jackie’s Warrior ran one of his best races on a wet track, and he could get similar conditions Saturday when he makes his 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

Rains have pummeled Hot Springs since the early morning hours, with training delayed an hour due to lightning in the area. Training was later called off for the remainder of the morning at 9:30 a.m. Central.

Following Sunday’s program, there is no live racing at Santa Anita until April 30, a day with four graded stakes.

The track will not race from April 22-24 or on Friday, April 29, a gap that will allow a break for the horse population leading to the final weeks of the winter-spring meeting, which ends on June 19. The stoppage of racing allows the turf course to be rested.

Desert Dawn, the upset winner of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks on April 9, will be shipped to Churchill Downs on May 1 for a scheduled start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 6.

Friday at Santa Anita, Desert Dawn had a routine gallop, trainer Phil D’Amato said.

“She had a nice gallop,” he said. “If all goes well, she’ll be on a plane on May 1.”

There is a Grade 1 race in the short-term future for Royal Ship, the winner of the John Shear Mile at Santa Anita last Sunday in his 2022 debut.

Trainer Richard Mandella said on Friday that Royal Ship will be considered for the $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on May 30, or the $1 million Metropolitan Mile Handicap at Belmont Park on June 11.

Mandella said the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on April 30 is likely to arrive too soon.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Bob’s Edge has emerged as the leading sprinter at the Oaklawn Park meet and on Saturday will get tested by a champion when he meets Jackie’s Warrior for the first time in the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.  

The Count Fleet continues the $5.4 million Racing Festival of the South, which is a collection of major stakes run throughout the month of April at Oaklawn.  

The forecast is for a high of 68 degrees and a chance of showers, according to AccuWeather.