El Conejo

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEW

Nine are entered to run in Sunday’s $100,000 El Conejo H. (G3) at Santa
Anita. The 5 1/2-furlong competition brings together several speedsters who will
compete on what is most likely to be a wet track, and the several inches of rain
over the past week probably puts a damper on some trainers’ plans and leaves this race as
a toss-up.

MCCANN’S MOJAVE (Memo [Chi])
is coming off an eight-month layoff due to a sore hock and a sealed track is the
last thing trainer Leonard Dorfman would probably want to see. Despite this, if the five-year-old chestnut starts in this affair,
he is our pick to come out on top. McCann’s Mojave last ran on Kentucky Derby day, where
he trailed Speightstown (Gone West) for the entirety of the Churchill Down’s H.
(G2). Although well beaten, he picked up his top BRIS Speed figure of 107,
turning the hat trick with his third straight century-topping Speed figure. The
shorter distance may prove to his advantage here, as he has had a number of
sharp works at the distance, and, in five career starts on the Santa Anita surface,
McCann’s Mojave has made four trips to the winner’s circle. Jose Valdivia has
the call.

HOMBRE RAPIDO (Falstaff) wound up a disappointing seventh last out in his
turf debut. Trainer John Sadler switches his charge back to the main track in
hopes of improvement on the disappointing performance in the Hollywood Turf Express H.
(G3) most recently. The eight-year-old gelding is one of the most experienced in
this field at Santa Anita with 11 career
starts, from which he holds a 3-2-3 record. He has one race under his belt at
Sunday’s distance on the main track, which he won in convincing fashion at
Hollywood Park back in December of 2002. David Flores will be making his first
start aboard the bay. 

AREYOUTALKINTOME (Smokester) has been more successful when sitting off the
pace and striking in the later parts of the race. Here, he may lack the
distance, however. Given more room, the Doug O’Neill charge would have a great
chance of winning, but the cut back to 5 1/2 furlongs may inhibit his ability to
close for the win. Areyoutalkintome has landed on the board in each of his five
starts on this surface, a line which includes three wins. Tyler Baze will take
over riding duties for this contest.

The off track is less likely to hinder BRITT’S JULES (Jules) than
some of his counterparts. He has only placed off the board once in five starts
on a track less than fast. Conditioner Eric Guillot is cutting the gelding’s
distance here for the first time. Usually participating in matches of one mile
or more, Britt’s Jules will be making a return to sprints, where he is 5-4-0-0 at five furlongs and has placed
four times from six starts at six furlongs.

BLUESTHESTANDARD (Amercian Standard) comes off a second-place outing in the
Oakland H. in early December. The eight-year-old veteran broke second and
remained in that spot through every call. Trainer Ted West has been conditioning
the gelding through several sharp works lately and it would not be a surprise if
the classy bay finishes near the top of the pack.

REVELLO (Memo [Chi]) has good speed on the back side and has posted some
commendable BRIS E2
Pace ratings, which could come in handy here. He is certainly capable of
trading blows with this company and may finish well. DAY TRADER (Phone Trick) is
coming off a 56-day layoff to attempt his second straight win after taking the Klaq H.
last out against lesser competition.
The gray six-year-old owns good early speed, which gives him a shot at an upset
or a top three placing.

WOKE UP DREAMIN (Holy Bull) comes off a two-month layoff after
finishing 10 1/2 lengths back against allowance company last out. He has fared well against lesser peers, but might be out of his class here. DON’TSELLMESHORT
(Benchmark) also comes off a two-month rest. He has seen the most success when
going to the front from the ring of the gate bell, but appears up against it in the upper echelons.