SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK
APRIL 8, 2015
by John Mucciolo
A pair of sensational sophomore performances topped the weekend at Santa
Anita.
Santa Anita Derby (G1): Kaleem Shah’s DORTMUND (Big Brown) grabbed the lead
soon after the break and never gave his foes a chance, offering a punishing move
to pull away in the lane for conditioner Bob Baffert. The unbeaten colt finished
4 1/4-lengths clear under the wire and finished off 1 1/8 miles on the fast main
strip in 1:48 3/5.
Santa Anita Oaks (G1): Hronis Racing’s STELLAR WIND (Curlin) left little
doubt as to who was the top three-year-old filly on the West Coast with a superb
5 1/4-length drubbing of her foes. The John Sadler-trained Virginia-bred sped 1
1/16 miles in 1:43 1/5 under the guidance of Victor Espinoza.
Providencia S. (G3): Ben Keswick’s SPIRIT OF XIAN (Ire) (Kodiac) went to the
lead soon after the gates opened and held off all comers in posting a neck tally
for trainer Richard Mandella. The sophomore filly endured nine furlongs on the
firm turf course in 1:48 with Joe Talamo in the silks.
Track Stats
From a total of 36 races held at the Arcadia, California racetrack during the
past week, favorites won at a 36 percent clip and the top two betting choices
combined for 53 percent of the wins. From 23 frays contested on the dirt oval,
three animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (13 percent), while four of the 13
grassy tilts were taken all the way on the front end (31 percent).
Speed on the lawn was better than that on the dirt this week, with four wire
jobs on the green, all of which came in route races. We also saw three sit in
second early on and win, and will keep a close eye on the trend in the coming
weeks.
Dortmund was the only wire-to-wire winner on the dirt until Sunday, when a
pair of sprint runs was taken all the way on the front end.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 519 | |
| DIRT: | 357 | |
| TURF: | 162 | |
| FAVORITES: | 193 (37 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 96 (18 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 25 (15 percent) | |
| DIRT WIRE: | 73 (20 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Thursday (4/2)
8TH — MIRAGLO (Indygo Shiner) had been unraced for more than 15 months but
showed no signs of rust in this decisive graduating run for conditioner Cliff
Sise. The four-year-old colt tracked the pace, moved to the fore in midstretch
and really poured it on late in pulling well clear. We thought the Florida-bred
beat a decent cast and could be any kind going forward.
Friday (4/3)
4TH — NOWALKING (Hard Spun) finally broke through at this level in getting
up very late to top a small but solid field for conditioner Phil d’Amato. The
four-year-old colt came home in a swift :30 4/5 and might be a player with
winners next time.
7TH — SMOOVE IT (Square Eddie) makes this list once again and will be stakes
bound next time in this fine form cycle. The Doug O’Neill trainee has been super
sharp going down the hill and two turns, and couldn’t have been much more
impressive in this romp under Super Mario.
Saturday (4/4)
3RD — GIMME DA LUTE (Midnight Lute) made the maiden-to-stakes move with ease
when powering home in a decisive score for trainer Bob Baffert. The talented
sophomore prospect looked very capable of getting a bit more ground and we
wouldn’t mind see him trying two turns.
6TH — ZINVOR (Tribal Rule) was buried inside for much of this turf endeavor
but once clear, the sophomore gelding spurted home and made short work of his
foes beneath Victor Espinoza. The John Sadler trainee could evolve into a stakes
player with runs like this one.
7TH — LUMINANCE (Tale of the Cat) tracked early, took the lead into the lane
and finished well clear in second in her stakes debut. The Baffert trainee has a
lot of ability and simply ran into a buzzsaw on this day.
8TH — Baffert’s ONE LUCKY DANE (Lookin At Lucky) had every right to pack it
in during the stretch run on this race, but the talented colt stayed on to
finish well clear in second ahead of a few nice ones. The intriguing prospect
was making just his second race of the season but proved to us he belongs with
the better of his generation right now.
Sunday (4/5)
2ND — ROSICKY (Flatter) was last after the opening half-mile, but put in a
fine late charge and nearly corralled a clear one in the lane in a sharp debut
performance in this dash. The sophomore colt will be a surefire contender in his
comeback try for conditioner Carla Gaines.
5TH — In one of the sharper performances of the week, Baffert’s ENCHANTING
LADY (Tale of the Cat) pressed a fast pace, took the lead at the top of the lane
and never wavered in sprinting home a fine vixen under Martin Garcia. The
three-year-old miss clocked 6 1/2 panels in a sharp 1:15 and could be among the
better one-turn fillies in training before this season concludes.
A Look Ahead
The $200,000 Kona Gold (G2) and $100,000 Las Cienegas (G3) top the action on
Saturday at Santa Anita.