TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS
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SANTA PAULA S. (G3), 8TH-SA, $100,000, 3YO, F, 6.5F, 4:07 P.M. PDT, 3-29 |
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| PP | HORSE | TRAINER | JOCKEY | WT |
| 1 |
BELTENE |
CARAVA JACK |
ROSARIO JOEL |
118 |
| 2 |
EMPRESSIVE LADY |
MULLINS JEFF |
SOLIS A |
116 |
| 3 |
PINKARELLA |
O’NEILL DOUG |
GARCIA MARTIN |
114 |
| 4 |
CARLSBAD |
MULLINS JEFF |
BAZE T C |
116 |
| 5 |
ULTRA BLEND |
SHERMAN ART |
VALDIVIA J JR |
116 |
| 6 |
HEARTLESS VIXEN |
ELLIS RONALD W |
BEJARANO R |
116 |
CARLSBAD (Rocky Bar) will make her graded debut in Sunday’s $100,000 Santa
Paula S. (G3) at Santa Anita, and the Arizona invader looks very capable of
carrying her form to this level. Now trained by Jeff Mullins, the dark bay lass
appears to training well over the Pro-Ride in advance of her synthetic bow, and
it’s easy to be impressed by her recent form. The Arizona-bred lass exits a 13
1/4-length romp in the Arizona Oaks, and she rolled to a 19-length decision in
the Arizona Juvenile Fillies S. two starts back. Her BRIS Speed ratings are solid,
and Carlsbad is our pick to win on the front end.
HEARTLESS VIXEN (Lion Heart) owns plenty of promise for Ron Ellis. The filly
will make her stakes debut off a pair of commendable victories at Santa
Anita, winning a tough maiden special weight prior to a 4 1/4-length decision
over entry-level allowance rivals, and her BRIS Speed ratings improved nicely
the second time around. The late runner could get a solid pace up front to run
at, and she’ll receive a positive rider switch to Rafael Bejarano.
EMPRESSIVE LADY (Empire Maker) was overmatched against stakes rivals last
fall, but she opened her three-year-old campaign with a decent showing in the
Santa Ynez S. (G2) and rolled to a good-looking allowance score last time. The
Mullins runner figures to sit a good trip just off the speed, and we’ll use her
on the bottom of the exotics.
BELTENE (Unusual Heat) reeled off three straight wins before finishing sixth
in the 1 1/16-mile Santa Anita Oaks (G1) last time. The Jack Carava trainee cuts
back to a more favorable sprint distance here, but she will need to improve her
Speed ratings to challenge.
Northern California shipper ULTRA BLEND (Richly Blended) faltered at short
odds in a listed stakes last time at Golden Gate Fields, and she’s been most
effective when doing her running on the early lead, which isn’t likely to happen
here. PINKARELLA (Malibu Moon) figures to show speed, but the Doug O’Neill
charge will face plenty of pressure. The bay filly faded when making her stakes
debut last time, and we’ll just watch to see how she handles this class check.
| TRACK BANDIT SELECTIONS: | 1st-CARLSBAD | |
| 2nd-HEARTLESS VIXEN | ||
| 3rd-EMPRESSIVE LADY |