SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
by John Mucciolo
Another top performance by Grade 1 victor GEORGIE BOY (Tribal Rule) headlined
the previous week at Santa Anita.
San Carlos H. (G2): George Schwary’s homebred Georgie Boy was easily
best in this compact field, blowing clear in the stretch under a confident
Garrett Gomez. The superb four-year-old went seven furlongs on the Pro-Ride in
1:21 4/5 for Kathy Walsh in registering his second straight daylight score.
San Luis Obispo H. (G2): R.D. Hubbard’s SPRING HOUSE (Chester House)
successfully defended his title with a huge finish under Alex Solis, spurting
clear to an impressive score. The seven-year-old finished off 1 1/2 miles over
the firm turf in 2:27 1/5 for Julio Canani.
Track Stats
From a total of 35 races held over the Arcadia racetrack during the four-day
week, favorites won at a 40 percent clip and the top two betting choices
combined for 49 percent of the wins. From 24 frays contested on the Pro-Ride
oval, four animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (16 percent), while one of the 10
grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (10 percent).
It’s still proving to be difficult to lead at every call over this quirky
oval, as horses closing on the outside seem to hold a small advantage at this
juncture. Sunday yielded no wire-to-wire winners from seven main-track contests.
Staying close in grass races is not a bad thing, but the rain that this
course has been pelted with over the past two weeks has added some give to the
turf, which has helped the late runners some.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 381 | |
| PRO-RIDE: | 301 | |
| TURF: | 80 | |
| FAVORITES: | 129 (34 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 76 (20 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 19 (24 percent) | |
| PRO-RIDE WIRE: | 54 (18 percent) |
Post Positions (wins):
| RAIL: | 45 | |
| 1-3: | 152 | |
| 4-6: | 141 | |
| 7-out: | 88 |
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (2/19)
6TH — JOYANCE (Pulpit) ran a huge one at big odd in here for Mark Glatt,
finishing 4 1/2 lengths clear of third in a smart runner-up effort. The filly’s
lone try prior to this was nothing to write home about, but she proved on this
day that she is a runner.
7TH — ELYSIUM FIELDS (El Prado [Ire]), second in the 2008 Fountain of Youth
S. (G2), returned with a good showing for Neil Drysdale, drawing clear late to
register a win under Rafael Bejarano. The talented colt didn’t beat much in here
but should continue to improve with more conditioning.
Friday (2/20)
2ND — RAIL TRIP (Jump Start) has proven beyond a doubt that he is too good
for horses at this level, and the exciting prospect should get a truer test when
he returns for Ron Ellis. The untested four-year-old looks awesome to this
point.
3RD — QUESTING (Mr. Greeley) was a bit unlucky in his first two-turn grass
test for Drysdale, but we can’t imagine this one being a maiden for long. The
well-bred sophomore moved up with the addition of Lasix, showing a nice turn of
foot before hanging a bit late.
Saturday (2/21)
4TH — HALO NAJIB (Halo’s Image) had no chance with the winner in here, but
ran a big race nonetheless in his second start on the West Coast for Mike
Mitchell. The four-year-old probably wants a little more ground, so we’ll keep
tabs on him going forward.
6TH — NITRO ACTIVE (Capsized) earned a sharp 94 BRIS Speed number for his
runner-up finish in this one for Michael Machowsky, fighting on stubbornly
beneath Joe Talamo.
8TH — ZENSATIONAL (Unbridled’s Song) looked the part in his debut for Bob
Baffert, striding out nicely past the wire in an impressive tally. The expensive
colt could be any type.
The Bruce Headley-trained OFF THE WALL (Candy Ride [Arg]) couldn’t have run
much better in his debut, sweeping to challenge the winner turning for home and
finishing well to be a clear second in this dash. This colt has a promising
future.
Sunday (2/22)
2ND — SHIKSA (Johannesburg) just missed in a strong debut effort for Patrick
Biancone, closing with excellent energy to finish just behind a nice one. She’ll
be tough with anything resembling this.
The same can be said for HARD KISSES (Toccet), whom Baffert will have more
cranked next out.
4TH — SCORED (Came Home) proved that his scorching workouts were no fluke
with a flying finish for Headley, winning at first asking against a useful
group. We’ll be using this one in his return.
A Look Ahead
The $200,000 Sham S. (G3) on Saturday and Sunday’s $100,000 Baldwin S. (G3),
both for sophomores, are the graded attractions in the upcoming week at “The
Great Race Place.”