SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK
MARCH 17, 2010
by John Mucciolo
The return of the unofficial “Queen of Racing” headlined the weekend at Santa
Anita.
Santa Margarita H. (G1): Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Moss’ ZENYATTA (Street
Cry [Ire]) ran her mark to a perfect 15-for-15 with an adventurous tally in here
for John Shirreffs. The sublime six-year-old endured traffic for much of the
stretch but inhaled her foes once clear, stopping the teletimer in 1:48 1/5
beneath Mike Smith.
San Felipe S. (G2): Sid and Jenny Craig’s homebred SYDNEY’S CANDY
(Candy Ride [Arg]) ran his second consecutive field off their feet in a strong
wire-to-wire tally under Joe Talamo. The rapidly developing sophomore finished
off 1 1/16 miles in 1:42 1/5 for John Sadler.
Track Stats
From a total of 43 races held over the Arcadia racetrack during the five-day
race week, favorites won at a 40 percent clip and the top two betting choices
combined for 65 percent of the wins. From 28 frays contested on the Pro-Ride
oval, eight animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (29 percent), while five of the
15 grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (33 percent).
The first two main-track races of the week were won on the lead, with six of
the final 26 races were won in wire-to-wire fashion on the main oval. Of the
eight wire jobs, half of them occurred in either Race 1 or Race 2 during the
week.
Speed was good on the lawn, with five winners leading at every call and four
others in very close range early from 15 grass tilts. We’re a bit surprised at
how well early runners have fared on the downhill course and will continue to
back them with more confidence.
Meet Totals
| RACES: | 457 | |
| PRO-RIDE: | 334 | |
| TURF: | 123 | |
| FAVORITES: | 152 (33 percent) | |
| 2ND CHOICES: | 106 (23 percent) | |
| TURF WIRE: | 31 (25 percent) | |
| PRO-RIDE WIRE: | 66 (20 percent) |
HORSES TO WATCH
Wednesday (3/10)
2ND — UKANDOIT (Northern Afleet) ran a good race from start to finish at
first asking and should be a big threat in his next try versus similar for
conditioner Bill Spawr.
4TH — The Mike Puype-trained QUISISANA (Decarchy) won her second in
succession in posting a final time of 1:08 3/5 for six panels under Rafael
Bejarano. She should be stakes bound soon.
Thursday (3/11)
2ND — The talented STALINGRAD (Glitterman) had every right to tire late in
here but never wavered, driving home a clear winner for trainer James Cassidy.
The gelding, who hadn’t raced since September of 2008, got his final
three-eighths in a solid :36 and should be even tighter next time around.
7TH — LION’S STORY (Wildcat Heir) was last after the opening half-mile but
rallied boldly to just miss in here in a fine runner-up performance. We’ll look
to play the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee in his comeback.
Friday (3/12)
7TH — The talented, yet inconsistent, SLEW’S TIZNOW (Tiznow) defeated a nice
field in here in good fashion, putting away a solid runner in the lane under
jockey Garrett Gomez. While we never know if this one will fire his best shot or
not, he’s hard to leave off tickets because he can be really good.
Saturday (3/13)
3RD — DAN THE CAPTAIN (Siphon [Brz]) showed good speed before outmoved in
the lane at first asking, but we think the gelding will return with a big effort
next time for Hollendorfer. The four-year-old was beaten just more than two
lengths in a blanket finish, fighting on after being passed.
5TH — TAP IT LIGHT (General Meeting) really flew home in here and did well
to gain second in here in his third straight good effort for Mike Mitchell. The
six-year-old still has plenty of run in him.
8TH — TOP FEELING (Explicit) is turning into a superb California-bred turf
horse for trainer Victor Garcia, and he simply dusted this field in a stylish
win, coming home in :22 4/5. We hate to make comparisons, but his ascension is
reminding us some of the way Grade 1 star The Usual Q T (Unusual Heat) did it
last year.
9TH — INTERACTIF (Broken Vow) ran a big one in here in his synthetic debut
and should be primed for a top showing in the upcoming Santa Anita Derby (G1).
Sunday (3/14)
4TH — HOCKLEY (A.P. Indy) showed a new dimension while flashing speed and it
paid off, as the talented sophomore finally broke his maiden. The Eoin Harty
pupil could be a good one over time.
ROYAL F J (Royal Academy) ran his second consecutive excellent race but fell
short to a talented winner — his day will come very soon.
8TH — I’ve been a big fan of ANNIHILATION (Northern Afleet) since I saw her
run at Del Mar in the summer, and the four-year-old has now bagged stakes wins
in two straight over two extremely different courses. Trainer Dan Hendricks
knows how to keep a good one that way, so I assume we’ll be hearing a lot more
about her.
A Look Ahead
Saturday’s $150,000 San Luis Rey H. (G2) and the $150,000 Santa Ana H. (G2)
on Sunday are the graded races this weekend at “the Great Race Place.”