Liaison held off a charging Rousing Sermon in the CashCall Futurity in December (Benoit Photos)

Separated by less than a length in two stakes at Hollywood Park last fall, Liaison and Rousing Sermon will renew acquaintance in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita, a 1 1/16-mile heat which marks the season debut for both classic contenders.

Liaison, trained by Bob Baffert, has gotten the better of the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained Rousing Sermon thus far. Liaison was a half-length to the good of his rival in the Real Quiet on November 12, but the margin was only a neck when they last met in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity on December 17.

Both colts have winning form over the Santa Anita strip. Liaison broke his maiden going seven furlongs in his race prior to the Real Quiet, while Rousing Sermon was a 2 1/4-length winner of the California Cup Juvenile in late October.

Three CashCall Futurity also-rans have joined the Lewis lineup. Sky Kingdom, fourth in the Futurity, came back to dominate allowance foes by 4 1/2 lengths for Baffert last month, while fifth-placer Empire Way has not raced since the Hollywood feature. Groovin' Solo, who was pulled up in the Futurity after his rein broke, won a one-mile maiden event on December 30 and adds blinkers for the Lewis.

Tapizar will seek to add the Strub to his list of Santa Anita stakes wins (Benoit Photos)

The Saturday program at Santa Anita also features the Grade 2, $200,000 Strub for four-year-olds at nine furlongs, and the Grade 2, $150,000 Arcadia for older horses at one mile on the turf. Both should have prohibitive favorites: Tapizar in the Strub and Mr. Commons in the Arcadia.

Tapizar enters off a comfortable wire-to-wire score in the Grade 2 San Fernando over 1 1/16 miles, and should prove tough to catch again if allowed to get an easy lead. His main rival for early supremacy might be Ultimate Eagle, upset winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby and Grade 2 Oak Tree Derby last fall. Third in the Grade 2 Sir Beaufort last time which ended a four-race winning streak, the colt is by 2002 Strub winner Mizzen Mast.

Other notables in the Strub include Balladry and Grade 2 winner Prayer for Relief, second and third, respectively in the San Fernando; Jaycito, who's raced sporadically since winning the Grade 1 Norfolk in 2010; and the Grade 1-placed Clubhouse Ride, who was last seen running second to Tapizar in the Grade 3 Sham more than a year ago.

Mr. Commons, a 3 1/4-length winner of the Sir Beaufort, will break outside his seven rivals in the Arcadia. The Artie Schiller colt was a respectable second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and Grade 2 Oak Tree Mile last fall against older rivals, and a good fifth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile.