He’s Had Enough trying to follow in I’ll Have Another’s
Lewis hoofprints
Last year’s Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis served as a
steppingstone to stardom, as I’ll Have Another parlayed his 2 3/4-length win in
the race to
triumphs in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Saturday’s 1 1/16-mile
Lewis attracted a field of four
hoping for the same outcome, including He’s
Had Enough, who like I’ll Have Another is owned by Reddam Racing, trained
by Doug O’Neill and ridden by Mario Gutierrez.
Second, beaten a head by juvenile champion Shanghai Bobby in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on November
3, He’s Had Enough has been idle since running a well-beaten fifth in the Grade
1 CashCall Futurity on December 15.
A first-out maiden winner going 6 1/2 furlongs on August 12 at
Del Mar, the Tapit colt has broken slowly in three out of his five starts and
has been devoid of early speed in all of his races. The Kentucky-bred would
benefit from a lively pace in the Lewis, but that could be problematic, given the short
field at Santa Anita.
Due primarily to his second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup, He’s Had
Enough sports the largest bankroll among those entered in the Lewis, having
banked $448,000 from five career races thus far.
Bob Baffert will likely saddle the Lewis favorite, either Den’s
Legacy, who comes off a good second when beaten just 1 1/2 lengths in the Grade
3 Sham Stakes going a mile on January 5, or flashy first-out maiden winner
Flashback.
Prior to his Sham effort, Den’s Legacy ran third from far off the pace in the CashCall Futurity
and was a winner of the Grade 3 Generous going one mile on Hollywood Park’s turf
in late November.
The Florida-bred colt by Medaglia d’Oro has shown an ample amount of versatility and has tactical speed, if
needed. With nine starts to his credit, the bay colt also has more races under
his belt than the rest of the Lewis field combined.
Baffert will also send out Flashback, who easily conquered his seven-furlong
debut on December 8 by 3 1/2 lengths. The gray son of Tapit has a string of impressive works since his maiden win, including a bullet
five-furlong drill of :59 2/5 on January 28, which was the best of 20 at the distance
on that day. Julien
Leparoux will again ride Flashback, who may go to the early lead in the Lewis.
The short Lewis field is completed by Little Jerry, a Candy Ride maiden
winner trained by Richard Baltas. The bay colt was never a factor after breaking
slowly in his next assignment, the CashCall Futurity, and will be ridden in the
Lewis by Tyler Baze, who was up for the maiden score.
Baffert also has the top prospect of Fed Biz in the Grade 2, $200,000
Strub
later on Santa Anita’s Saturday card.
The Giant’s Causeway four-year-old romped in a pair of mile races at Santa
Anita last winter before being shelved for nearly seven months, not returning
until making his stakes bow a winning effort in the El Cajon in August.
Fed
Biz wouldn’t visit the winner’s circle again until taking the Grade 2 San Fernando
on January 12, thus setting the
stage for his role as likely favorite in the nine-furlong Strub. Mike Smith was
aboard that day and keeps the mount as the pair face three others who ran behind
them in the San Fernando, including barely beaten head runner-up Tritap.
A Kentucky-bred colt by Tapit, Tritap has been a gem of
consistency for trainer Steve Asmussen and will be seeking his first stakes victory in the
Strub. He’ll again be handled by Corey Nakatani, who rode him for the first time in
the San Fernando.
“He ran his butt off,” Nakatani said following the San
Fernando, in which he broke from post position nine. “We had a real good
position but he also had to do quite a bit from the (post) position we had. He
ran a dynamite race and it was unfortunate that we got beat.”
In addition to Fed Biz, Baffert will also saddle Guilt
Trip, who finished a half-length behind Tritap in the San Fernando. The
stablemates worked six furlongs in company on
Sunday, with Guilt Trip getting the best of it, stopping the watch
at 1:12. Fed Biz was timed in 1:12 2/5 on the wet-fast track at Santa Anita.
Completing the San Fernando re-opposers is Grade 2 winner Handsome Mike, who pressed the pace
in that 1 1/16-mile affair before weakening to finish 2 3/4 lengths behind Guilt Trip. Trained by O’Neill,
the Scat Daddy four-year-old will again be ridden by Gutierrez.
The Grade 2, $150,000
Arcadia
will round out the stakes action at Santa Anita on Saturday, featuring a full
field of 14 going a mile on the turf, and Argentine-bred Suggestive
Boy rates a big chance for trainer Ron McAnally with Joseph Talamo aboard.
A four-time Group 1 winner in Argentina, the five-year-old son of Easing
Along was
second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths, when making his U.S. debut in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile
last June at Hollywood Park. He went on to capture the Wickerr going a mile on
Del Mar’s turf, but has been unable to find the top three since that July 25
race.
Suggestive Boy has five consecutive turf
drills on his tab since finishing seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last
November.
Arkansas-bred Strong Suit, who is a
multiple Group 2 winner in England, will be making his U.S. debut in the Arcadia
for new trainer Simon Callaghan. The Rahy five-year-old finished fourth as the 3-2 favorite in a Group
2 Stakes at Doncaster in his most recent start on September 15 and brings English-based jockey Jamie Spencer
along for the Arcadia ride.
Any hypothetical early pace battle would have to include
Jerry Hollendorfer’s speedy Chosen Miracle, who showed the way going 1 1/8 miles in the Grade
2 San Gabriel on January 13 before finishing third. Second in the Grade 3 Eddie D at 6
1/2 furlongs down
Santa Anita’s hillside turf course on September 28, the five-year-old son of Ghostzapper will attempt a
flat mile for the first time in the Arcadia.
Others of note in the Arcadia include unbeaten Kilsz, who will be trying
stakes company for the first time; dual French Group 3 winner and U.S. debuter
Vagabond Shoes; Grade 2 Sir Beaufort victor Silentio; and Wilkinson, hero of the Grade
2 American Handicap on
May 26 but fifth in the Grade 3 Daytona on December 29 in his only start since.
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