SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK
MARCH 13, 2009
by John Mucciolo
EINSTEIN (Brz) (Spend a Buck) proved that you can teach an old dog new tricks
when taking his synthetic debut on Saturday, powering home to annex the Big
‘Cap.
Santa Anita H. (G1): Midnight Cry Stable et al’ Einstein took command in early stretch and pulled clear
to an impressive, one-length tally in this test for Helen Pitts. The
seven-year-old, who was ridden by Julien Leparoux, was always well placed and
never looked in danger in the latter stages, finishing off 1 1/4 miles on the
Pro-Ride in 2:01 4/5.
Santa Anita Oaks (G1): IEAH Stables’ STARDOM BOUND (Tapit) was given
her biggest test in some time, but the champion filly found a way late under
Mike Smith, getting up by a nose on the line. The gray sophomore went at least
eight-wide turning for home and got up in the final jump.
Frank E. Kilroe H. (G1): Castleton Lyons’ GIO PONTI (Tale of the Cat) timed his run perfectly and just
nabbed Ventura (Chester House) by the slimmest of margins, annexing this one for
Christophe Clement. Piloted by Ramon Dominguez, the four-year-old colt finished
off one grassy mile in 1:33 3/5.
Track Stats
From a total of 44 races held over the Arcadia racetrack during the four-day
week, favorites won at a 25 percent clip and the top two betting choices
combined for 53 percent of the wins. From 33 frays contested on the Pro-Ride
oval, five animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (15 percent), while two of the 11
grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (18 percent).
The main oval returned to normalcy this week, with speed having absolutely no
edge over the past five days. That wasn’t the case the previous week, and it’s
hard to figure why there was such a quick turnaround over this unique oval.
Outside paths appeared, to us, to be more advantageous, but nothing dramatic.
The turf had some moisture in it which gave each type of runner a fair chance at
winning.
Meet Totals:
| RACES: | 468 | |
| PRO-RIDE: | 365 | |
| TURF: | 103 | |
| FAVORITES: | 158 (34 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 94 (20 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 25 (24 percent) | |
| PRO-RIDE WIRE: | 73 (20 percent) |
Post Positions (wins):
| RAIL: | 55 | |
| 1-3: | 187 | |
| 4-6: | 176 | |
| 7-out: | 105 |
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (3/4)
1ST — WITTY (Distorted Humor) made a splendid debut for Richard Mandella in
here, taking over to win going away by 3 1/2 lengths under Victor Espinoza. The
sophomore miss earned a smart 93 BRIS Speed figure and she should improve when
they stretch her out. Her half-brother is Grade 1 winner Well Armed (Tiznow).
Thursday (3/5)
2ND — PISTOL PETE AFLEET (Northern Afleet) made good on the drop into the
claiming ranks, as expected, and the four-year-old showed that he has plenty of
run left in him. We know that this one likes Hollywood and we’ll tab him for a
return to that venue.
6TH — HEARTLESS VIXEN (Lion Heart) was unbelievable in her second career try
for conditioner Ron Ellis, dusting a useful group of fillies in the stretch to
remain unbeaten. This filly has serious potential and should be able to
duplicate that showing up to a mile, at least.
Friday (3/6)
3RD — MYTHICAL POWER (Congaree) was impressive in the way that he ran down
his stablemate in here, getting up in time under Garrett Gomez. The Bob Baffert
trainee has never been worse than third and has improved his BRIS Speed number
in each start and looks capable of handling more ground.
Saturday (3/7)
4TH — LEAVENWORTH (Forest Wildcat) was awesome at first asking for Jeff
Mullins, driving home in 1:15 1/5 for 6 1/2 furlongs. The three-year-old colt is
obviously stakes worthy — going short.
5TH — We tabbed SWEET AUGUST MOON (Malibu Moon) after her latest showing, and
the filly flattered us by powering past a solid field in here for Brian Koriner.
She’ll be tough right back.
8TH — CHEROKEE ARTIST (Cherokee Run) made quick work of this field under a
smart ride by Ramon Dominguez, driving home a clear winner for Graham Motion.
The talented four-year-old is just a cut below the top handicap runners in
California, but he’s an extremely tough customer when put with allowance fields.
A Look Ahead
The $300,000 Santa Margarita H. (G1) and $300,000 San Felipe S. (G2) are the
Saturday features at “The Great Race Place.”