AMERICAN GRADED STAKES
PREVIEW
MALIBU S.
(G1), 7TH-SA, $250,000, 3YO, 7F, 3:20 P.M. (PST), 12-26 |
|
1 |
DESERT CODE, 3, c, by E DubaiChatta Code, by Lost Code O-Tarabilla Farms Inc; B-Classicstar (Ky) |
2 |
LES GRANDS TROIS, 3, c, by OfficerTriple Treasure, by Gone West O-Live Oak Plantation; B-Hopewell Investments (Ky) |
3 |
E Z WARRIOR, 3, c, by ExploitCarson Jen, by Carson City O-Zayat Stables; B-Gulf Coast Farms Bloodstock (Ky) |
4 |
UNUSUAL SUSPECT, 3, c, by Unusual HeatPenpont (NZ), by Crested Wave O-Barry or David or Dyan Abrams; B-David Abrams (Ca) |
5 |
JOHNNY EVES, 3, G, by Skimming—Capote’s Halo, by Capote O/B-Mooncoin (Ca) |
6 |
IDIDN’TDOANYTHING, 3, G, by TrippiLeo Larla, by Leo Castelli O-Gregory Unruh; B-Harold J Plumley (Fl) |
7 |
HURRY UP AUSTIN, 3, c, by Lake AustinHurry Up Marya, by Who’s for Dinner O-Glaze Glaze & Stute; B-Sunrise Stable South (Fl) |
8 |
CARRILERO (ARG), 3, c, by Royal AcademyKeno, by Mountain Cat O-Bone Or Desperado Stables Inc; B-Don Arcangel (Arg) |
9 |
GREAT HUNTER, 3, c, by AptitudeZenith, by Roy O-J Paul Reddam; B-Ivy Dell Stud (Pa) |
10 |
HORSE GREELEY, 3, c, by Mr. GreeleyChile Chatte, by Storm Cat O-Martha G Parfet; B-Martha Parfet & R. T. Parfet (Ky) |
11 |
SILVER STETSON MAN, 3, c, by Silver CharmRibbons, by Beau Genius O-Mike Pegram; B-Douglas & Mary Ann Strayer (Ky) |
12 |
COBALT BLUE, 3, c, by Golden MissilePrado Star, by El Prado (Ire) O-Saif Aldin Bin Saud Al L Saud; B-Adena Springs (Fl) |
13 |
INCRIMINATE, 3, c, by Unbridled’s SongRoll Over Baby, by Rollin On Over O-Darley Stable; B-Classicstar (Ky) |
14 |
DIVINE PARK, 3, c, by Chester HouseHigh in the Park, by Ascot Knight O-James J Barry; B-Runnymede Farm Inc. & Cates (Ky) |
A full field of 14 sophomores will travel seven furlongs in the $250,000
Malibu S. (G1) on opening day at Santa Anita on Wednesday. A bevy of top
contenders are set to line up in this demanding race, and we feel compelled to
find some value in our selections.
DESERT CODE (E Dubai) has many things to like about him, especially the
expected big price, so we’ll take a shot with the talented chestnut. The David
Hoffmans trainee has been impressive since transferring to the West Coast a
little more than a year ago, including wins in the Affirmed H. (G3) and Baldwin
S. (G3), and was a re-rallying third in the Hollywood Turf Express H. (G3)
versus elders in his return from a layoff. The Kentucky-bred has posted a trio
of nice drills in advance of his second start off the bench, he has excellent
tactical speed in a field that isn’t filled with much early gas, and the colt is
well drawn on the inside which should allow him to save ground into the lane.
Richard Migliore has the call.
There is no disputing the talent of LES GRANDS TROIS (Officer), and the
lightly raced colt should be right there at the conclusion of this one. Trained
by Bobby Frankel, who saddled Latent Heat to win this race
last year, the Live Oak colorbearer was a closing second when last seen in the
Perryville S. (G3) in October and has been freshened for this engagement. The
dark bay has enough early speed to keep him in the race early, and he possesses
a strong late rally that will be tough to hold off with the proper set up.
Rafael Bejarano will be in the irons.
HORSE GREELEY (Mr. Greeley), winner of the 2006 Del Mar Futurity (G2), has raced
once in the past 14 months but merits respect on talent alone. The fast chestnut
has been training well in preparation of this start and we find it somewhat
intriguing that Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Mandella would pick this spot
for the chestnut’s return. This trainer/jockey combo (Mandella/Victor Espinoza)
teamed up for a Grade 1 win on Saturday, and although we don’t see this one
crossing the line first, we insist in his inclusion in the exotics.
Unbeaten Withers S. (G3) hero DIVINE PARK (Chester House) has won on three
different surfaces at three unique distances, and has posted two successive
bullet drills to prepare for this event. The Kiaran McLaughlin pupil has looked
good from the word go and is among the more talented runners in this group, but
we’re slightly terrified of the 14 post that this one has been assigned. Alan
Garcia treks to the West Coast to pilot the bay, who could be especially tough
with his best.
COBALT BLUE (Golden Missile) flew home a swift winner in the Select S. on the
Breeders’ Cup undercard and has the look of a strong contender in this deep
field. The Doug O’Neill trainee has had some success on the synthetic surfaces
going long but now cuts back to his preferred one-turn distance. The chestnut
colt has good tactical speed and should never be too far away from the early
tempo; from there he’ll rely on Grade 1 win machine Garrett Gomez to get him
home.
Grade 1 hero GREAT HUNTER (Aptitude) will make his first start following an
unplaced effort in the Kentucky Derby (G1) for O’Neill. The Keystone State-bred
has been posting works since October, but we’re not sure if he’s at his optimal
distance and we think he may need a race before topping this kind of field. We
respect the dark bay and wouldn’t discount him with a pace meltdown, but we
don’t envision that scenario on this occasion.
JOHNNY EVES (Skimming) is the wildcard of the field as the gelding is likely
to be leading this field for the opening half-mile. The Jay Robbins charge has
improved steadily throughout the season and has proven to be a tough front-end
performer when not pressured early. If they let this California-bred bay alone
on the lead early, he could get brave and stay in front for a long while.
SILVER STETSON MAN (Silver Charm) began his career with a trio of wins on
synthetic ovals, including one locally, prior to a third-place allowance result
most recently. The Bob Baffert trainee has drilled four times to get ready for
his stakes debut and could hit the board with a top showing under Edgar Prado. E
Z WARRIOR (Exploit) has a ton of talent and would have been a prime contender
for this on the traditional dirt surface, but we have zero confidence on this
sophomore over this going.
UNUSUAL SUSPECT (Unusual Heat) has captured stakes races in three of his last
four outings and enters this one in career form for Barry Abrams. The dark bay
colt shows one placing in two synthetic tries, and we fully believe that this
one is clearly better on the turf course. CARRILERO (Arg) (Royal Academy) lacks
the credentials of many of his competitors and has raced exclusively on the
green in his three U.S. starts, so we can’t back the colt in this spot.
HURRY UP AUSTIN (Lake Austin) is still eligible for a first-level allowance
condition and will be hard pressed to impact this field. IDIDN’TDOANYTHING (Trippi)
probably won’t do anything to scare this field. The gelding does show a
sparkling 6-4-0-0 mark on all-weather surfaces, but looks a cut below this type.
INCRIMINATE (Unbridled’s Song) needed the bob to get through non-winners of
one allowance foes and would be a total shock to us if he registers a top-four
placing.