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HANDICAPPING INSIGHTS JUNE 27, 2015 by Dick Powell With all the racing action centered on the East Coast the past few months, then a big Saturday night at Churchill Downs two weeks ago, the focus shifts to Santa Anita for a nationally televised race program Saturday on NBC Sports Network from 8 to 9 p.m. (EDT). The $500,000 purse of the Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes (G1) has attracted a field of 11 going 10 furlongs on the main track. When run as the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) at Hollywood Park before it closed in 2014, the race featured a list of winning horses, jockeys and trainers that could stand up against any race for older dirt horses in America. Lava Man (Slew City Slew) won it three years in a row beginning in 2005, Native Diver (Imbros) won it three years in a row beginning in 1965 and superstars like Seabiscuit (Hard Tack), Swaps (Khaled), Citation (Bull Lea), Round Table (Princequillo) as a three-year-old, Gallant Man (Migoli), Affirmed (Exclusive Native), Ferdinand (Nijinsky II) and Skip Away (Skip Trial) added the Gold Cup to their illustrious credentials. Laffit Pincay Jr. won it nine times and Charlie Whittingham captured eight. One fact that surprised me when examining the list of winners is that Jerry Bailey won it five times despite being based on the East Coast his whole career. Run at 1 1/4 miles in the middle of summer, the winner broke two minutes 31 times and unlike many of our races run at classic distances, the Gold Cup almost always has a fast pace. So how does this year's renewal look? Well, it might not go down as one of the strongest Gold Cups in history but we are here to bet so it will be just fine. There are only three Grade 1 stakes winners in the field and Finnegan's Wake (Powerscourt) did so on turf. Moreno (Ghostzapper) won the Whitney (G1) last summer at Saratoga and Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday) captured the Clark (G1) last November at Churchill Downs. Usually, Moreno would be a threat to take these down the road but in his last two starts, he actually sat off the leader so he is not as headstrong as he used to be. He'll need to do so since California early speed is way faster than East Coast early speed. Still, the option is there for Cornelio Velasquez to gun him from the gate in the long run into the first turn and try to dominate if the other front-runners are worried about getting the distance. Hoppertunity returns off a short two-week rest and cross-country trip after running third at Churchill Downs in the Stephen Foster (G1) while carrying high weight of 121 pounds. He and Moreno must carry a two-pound penalty and the others 119 pounds so there is no real disadvantage. Hoppertunity won the San Pasqual Stakes (G2) here back in January before proving no match for Shared Belief (Candy Ride) in the San Antonio (G2) going nine furlongs. It might not be much of an upset but I like Catch a Flight (Giant's Causeway) to get the job done. The Argentine-bred was foaled in October of 2010 and raced in Argentina for the first 10 starts of his career. He shipped to America at the end of 2014 and after running third going a mile at Santa Anita, he came back to beat allowance foes at nine furlongs in a game effort. That race was strong enough to dive into the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) and despite breaking from post 12, he was able to stalk the pace and gamely just missed second place. At that point of the year, Shared Belief was unbeatable and Moreno was the one who beat him out for second in a photo. Showing his third in the Big 'Cap was no fluke, Catch a Flight came back to win the Precisionist (G3) next out and added the Californian (G2) last time, defeating Moreno at nine furlongs in fast time. Richard Mandella is a master of taking South American imports and winning major Grade 1 stakes races -- see SIPHON (Itajara) and GENTLEMAN (Robin des Bois) who both won this race -- and the Hall of Fame trainer gets Gary Stevens back in the saddle. The distance should stretch the field out so I don't think Catch a Flight will have to race as wide as he has been and at least if he does, Stevens will keep him nice and relaxed. One final thing in Catch a Flight's favor is that his sire, Giant's Causeway (Storm Cat), has an affinity for producing graded stakes winners that are five years old. He was an undefeated two-year-old and has produced 24 two-year-old stakes winners but for some reason, his horses that are still racing at age five are still winning graded stakes. And many of them do it on the dirt. If Catch a Flight goes off as the third betting choice, he is worth a healthy win wager.
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