Santa Anita shifted the Grade 2, $150,000
San Gabriel Stakes
from its customary late December date to Martin Luther King Jr. Day this meet,
but the 1 1/8-mile turf test has a familiar feel. Defending champion Jeranimo
is back for a repeat, and like the last running in 2010, Monday’s edition
figures to be a paceless affair with no obvious front runner.
The slightly later
calendar spot has made it possible for The Usual Q. T. to launch
his comeback here. Dramatically outkicked by Jeranimo in the San Gabriel last
winter, the multiple Grade 1 veteran was winless from three starts in 2011, and
headed to the sidelines after a well-beaten third in the Grade 2 American
Handicap on May 28.
Trainer Jim Cassidy admits that tackling nine furlongs off a
seven-month layoff isn’t ideal.
“It’s farther than we wanted to run him, but
right now our options are pretty much limited,” Cassidy noted. “I prefer not to
run him a mile and an eighth first time back, but it’s all that’s available.”
While The Usual Q. T. was enjoying some rest and
recreation, Jeranimo stayed busy and posted his best results toward the end of
the season. The Mike Pender charge captured the Grade 2 Oak Tree Mile, tired to
seventh after unadvisedly forcing a lively pace in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and
simply slammed the opposition in the Grade 2 Citation Handicap on November 26.
Martin Garcia picks up the mount from the injured Garrett Gomez.
Multiple
California-bred stakes scorer Norvsky should be much happier cutting
back in trip from the Grade 1, 1 1/2-mile Hollywood Turf Cup, where he retreated
to fifth. On the other hand, Grade 3 Sunset Handicap winner Imponente Purse, third in the Grade 2 Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship last
October, kicks off his campaign over a distance shorter than he’d prefer.
Rounding out the short field are Ashtar, fourth in the
Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship and Hollywood Turf Cup in his past two, and
optional claiming type Sandor.