Santa Monica J

There’s plenty of early speed in Sunday’s Santa Monica H. (G1). A classy
group of nine will contest the seven-furlong event, and we’ll give the nod to
the Grade 1-winning SHARP LISA (Dixieland Band).

Winner of the Las Virgenes S. (G1) and Santa Ynez S. (G2) at Santa Anita last
year, Sharp Lisa raced only once more, in April’s Fantasy S. (G2), before heading
to the sidelines for trainer Doug O’Neill. She didn’t resurface until the La
Brea S. (G1) on New Year’s Eve and broke last from the rail. Her nightmare trip
continued down the backstretch, but Sharp Lisa finally found her stride on the
far turn and rallied well for fourth. It served as an excellent tightener for
the chestnut filly, and Sharp Lisa drilled four furlongs in a bullet :47
(fastest of 33 at the distance) in preparation for this start. She likes the
track and distance and is much better drawn on the outside Sunday. We’ll look
for her to stalk and pounce for the win.

LEAVE ME ALONE (Bold Badgett) tailed off last fall with a dull showing at
Keeneland, but the Eric Kruljac-trained chestnut rebounded with an excellent
showing in the La Brea, finishing second and earning a 104 BRIS Speed rating.
The four-year-old has worked well since then at Santa Anita and looks like a
major factor in her first test against older rivals. Leave Me Alone likes the
track (4-2-2-0) and her best career performance, a 7 3/4-length score in the
Test S. (G1), came at seven furlongs. She’ll be tough to handle.

NOSSA CANCAO (Brz) (Fast Gold) offers some appeal for the exotics at long
odds. The six-year-old mare enters on the upswing for conditioner A.C. Avila,
winning two straight sprints at seven furlongs, including a five-length win at
Santa Anita, last fall before a route attempt two starts back which we can throw
out. In her last start, she hooked a good one in Western Hemisphere (General
Meeting) and finished a respectable third. Nossa Cancao earned a 101 Speed
rating last time and her numbers have been increasing. She could come charging
from far off the pace for part.

BEHAVING BADLY (Pioneering) looks like the speed of the speed and looms as a
wire-to-wire threat. The Bob Baffert trainee made her Santa Anita debut last
time with an impressive allowance win over ALPHABET KISSES (Alphabet Soup), receiving a 112 Speed rating,
and she’s still lightly raced. We wouldn’t be surprised to keep seeing more from
the five-year-old mare and would recommend using her on some gimmicks.

MISS TERRIBLE (Arg) (Numerous) merits serious consideration for the top
three. Extremely versatile, the seven-year-old mare won a Grade 3 at six
furlongs on the main track and a Grade 3 turf event around two turns last year.
She’s one for one at Santa Anita and could offer a challenge from just off the
pace under Garrett Gomez.

Alphabet Kisses will show speed from her rail post but will face serious
pressure to her outside. Jockey Pat Valenzuela could get her to the front first
and last a long time with the Grade 1-winning mare, but she hasn’t displayed encouraging form in her last two outings. Winner of the
2004 La Brea the last time she went seven furlongs at Santa Anita, the Martin
Jones charge remains a dangerous player with her back class, but we’ll try to
beat her at expected short odds.

AWESOME LADY (Bianconi) is a hard-knocking sort who may not be overwhelmed by
the class hike. She owns three wins over the track, but this will be her first
attempt at seven panels. REFOREST (Forestry) will be making her first appearance
in nearly 17 months and might need a race before tackling these rivals.
ALLSWELLTHATNSWELL (Perfect Mandate) doesn’t look good enough to challenge at
this level.