SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK
NOVEMBER 1, 2012
by John Mucciolo
There was a single graded race over the weekend at Santa Anita.
Autumn Miss S. (G3): Mercedes Stable’s homebred LADY TEN (Rock Hard
Ten) took the lead in midstretch and gamely held off a stern test late to post
the victory in this one for trainer Bob Baffert. The sophomore miss went one
mile on the firm turf in 1:34 4/5 under Rafael Bejarano to win by a neck.
Track Stats
From a total of 34 races held over the Arcadia, California, racetrack during
the past week, favorites won at a 35 percent clip and the top two betting
choices combined for 59 percent of the wins. From 22 frays contested on the dirt
oval, four animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (18 percent), while two of the 12
grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (17 percent).
Inner posts were best during the past week, with 18 of the 22 main track
winner breaking from post one through six. Some of that surely has to do with
smaller field sizes. Just two horses won when breaking from the rail, though,
and both came from off the pace.
We saw a few wire job and another few winners on the lawn win while close up
early on, but so speed runners surely have a chance on this turf course.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 179 | |
| DIRT: | 115 | |
| TURF: | 64 | |
| FAVORITES: | 53 (30 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 41 (23 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 10 (16 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 31 (27 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (10/25)
1ST — CHESTNUT MOON (Corinthian) made the short-priced favorite work for
every inch of this one in a fine second-place effort for trainer James Cassidy.
The three-year-old miss showed good early foot and staying power, and shouldn’t
be a maiden for long.
2ND — ZOOM BAG (Decarchy) is now unbeaten from a pair of fine tallies to
kick off his career, and the gelded two-year-old should be set to face open foes
after this sharp tally for conditioner Jack Carava.
7TH — TRUEST LEGEND (Songandaprayer) set ridiculously fast early splits and
nearly pulled off the upset in this swiftly run event for Jeff Mullins. The
speedy six-year-old faced a solid field in here and ran big, suggesting he will
be a major player in his comeback engagement.
Friday (10/26)
1ST — INFLAMED SPIRIT (Heatseeker [Ire]) set the pace and stayed on well to
be a strong third behind a pair of potential nice ones at first asking today for
conditioner Bob Baffert. We’ll keep a close eye on this juvenile colt, who
clearly seems adept at route racing.
6TH — GUIDOPANZINI (Giacomo) proved that he could handle two turns with good
results following this convincing wire-to-wire tally in here for Peter Miller.
The gelded sophomore came home in a sizzling :31 for this 1 1/16 miles event and
could eventually be stakes bound.
Saturday (10/27)
2ND — SHAKIN IT UP (Midnight Lute) ran well clear of a horse we like a lot
in this maiden dash for Baffert, and the two-year-old appears to have a bright
future. He could be a nice one-turn animal with natural progression.
Sunday (10/28)
1ST — BLONDE FOG (Divine Park) put in some kind of debut race going long in
here, taking the lead soon after the start and never looking back, en route to a
sensational, 12 1/2-length tally in here under Martin Garcia. The juvenile filly
was never in doubt here and not ridden hard in the lane — we have no idea how
good she can be.
2ND — OCTANE (Roman Ruler) had a nice trip in this one behind a contested
pace, and delivered with a big late rush to take this for Bruce Headley. We’ve
always thought highly of this gelding and would love to see him string together
a few races like this.
A Look Ahead
The Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships will be held at Santa
Anita this weekend.