Santa Anita’s leading juvenile stakes, the $300,000 American Pharoah (G1) and the $200,000 Oak Leaf (G2) for fillies, have been won a dozen times each by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He will again have a strong hand in both races when they are renewed on Saturday.
The 1 1/16-mile features are Breeders’ Cup Challenge preps for their corresponding World Championships races at Del Mar next month, and are also Road to the Kentucky Derby and Road to the Kentucky Oaks series events, with the top five finishers earning qualifying points for the prestigious Churchill Downs fixtures next May on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis.
Baffert has a trio for the American Pharoah, though the Tim Yakteen-trained McKinzie Street could be a slight favorite after running a clear second to the Baffert-trained Gaming in last month’s Del Mar Futurity (G1). Gaming sits this one out, so Baffert relies on Futurity third Citizen Bull; the speedy Best Pal (G3) winner Getaway Car, who weakened to fourth in the Futurity after an early duel; and recent graduate Emerald Bay.
It’s difficult to envision how Baffert evades success in the Oak Leaf, given the quality of his entries and the competition. Del Mar Debutante (G1) heroine Tenma and Sorrento (G3) winner Nooni renew rivalry following the latter’s fifth in the Debutante as an odds-on choice, but the best of the trio might be Non Compliant, a daughter of Tiz the Law who won on debut in fast time going six furlongs.
The $200,000 Rodeo Drive (G2), a 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Challenge prep for the Filly & Mare Turf (G1), has attracted a field of seven. The best of the local hopes might prove to be the undefeated three-year-old Iscreamuscream, who stretches out after back-to-back wins in the San Clemente (G2) and Del Mar Oaks (G1). Grade 1 veteran Aspen Grove and the South African import Beach Bomb, second in the Violet S. at Monmouth Park in her U.S. debut, are the top East Coast shippers.
Grade 1 veteran Sweet Azteca is the class of $100,000 Chillingworth (G3), her 6 1/2-furlong springboard toward the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1). But the race has come up slightly deeper than the Aug. 25 Rancho Bernardo H. (G3), which she won by seven lengths.
Kirstenbosch won last year’s Chillingworth en route to a fifth-place finish in the Filly & Mare Sprint, but has been out of action for eight months. New shooters who might pose a stronger threat include the three-year-olds Hope Road, five-length winner of the Torrey Pines (G3) for her third consecutive win, and stakes newcomer One Magic Philly, a recent seven-length winner versus entry-level allowance foes.
The $100,000 Speakeasy S., a potential stepping stone to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2), has attracted Smash It, a swift last-out maiden winner over the main track at Del Mar for Todd Fincher. The stakes-winning filly Dreamaway will get play if she chooses this spot over Sunday’s Indian Summer S. at Keeneland, while Kale’s Angel figures strong following a two-length maiden score over the same five-furlong distance.
