Blind Luck kicks off big weekend in El Encino

Although Blind Luck has been training sharply in advance of her four-year-old

bow, she will once again be hostage to the pace scenario on Sunday. The

123-pound co-highweight will break from post 2 before dropping back early

beneath regular rider Joel Rosario.

"Pace would definitely help," assistant trainer Dan Ward said. "But it's not

like she's run in races before that haven't had any pace. Every time she runs

they go slow. In the Alabama, they went :49 for a half and almost 1:15 for

three-quarters and she won, so that was very awesome."

The El Encino will mark Blind Luck's first competitive effort on Santa

Anita's new dirt main track.

"But she's trained very well on it," Ward said. "She's run at nine different

tracks (actually on nine different surfaces, including Santa Anita's when it was

synthetic). It's not like she has to carry her track with her."

With the El Encino being the middle leg of the series culminating in the

February 13 La Canada S. (G2), it stands to reason that several entrants are

coming out of the opening leg, the December 26 La Brea S. (G1) at seven

furlongs. The stakes record-setting winner, Switch (Quiet American), has opted

to remain at one turn for the January 30 Santa Monica H. (G1), but four La Brea

runners are stretching back out to two turns here -- runner-up MALIBU PIER

(Malibu Moon), fourth ALWAYS A PRINCESS (Leroidesanimaux [Brz]), fifth IT TIZ (Tiznow)

and sixth CHAMPAGNE D'ORO (Medaglia d'Oro).

Champagne d'Oro, the only other Grade 1 victress in the field, promises to

flash speed from the rail. The Eric Guillot filly excelled in one-turn events

last summer, wiring the Acorn S. (G1) and forcing a hot pace in the Test S. (G1)

en route to a 4 1/2-length triumph, but she has failed to crack the trifecta in

her past three. Champagne d'Oro ran fairly evenly in fourth in the Thoroughbred

Club of America S. (G2) at Keeneland, where she perhaps reiterated her lack of

enthusiasm for synthetic surfaces. Yet she didn't do much better back on the

dirt when fading to fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) and a

non-threatening sixth in the La Brea.

After those relatively disappointing efforts sprinting, Champagne d'Oro

reverts to routing for the first time since her throw-out 11th in the Kentucky

Oaks. Prior to that, the bay nearly pulled off a front-running upset of the Fair

Grounds Oaks (G2) at this same 1 1/16-mile trip. Joe Talamo picks up the mount.

The Bob Baffert-trained Always a Princess, who also figures to be a pace

factor, has run well in all three starts at the El Encino distance. Second to

Blind Luck in the 2009 Oak Leaf, she was a close fifth in that year's Breeders'

Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), and earned her first stakes win in the Indiana Oaks

(G2). Always a Princess then cut back to one turn, finishing third in the

Chilukki S. (G2) and a tiring fourth in the La Brea, but is eligible to put

forth an improved effort here. Rafael Bejarano will be back aboard the chestnut,

who ranks as the other 123-pound co-highweight along with Blind Luck.

Malibu Pier got off to a troubled start in the La Brea, only her fifth career

outing, yet showed professionalism to close boldly for the runner-up spot. The

Carla Gaines trainee has already won twice over a route of ground, having landed

allowances over the Del Mar turf and the Hollywood Park Cushion Track, and keeps

Garrett Gomez in the saddle. Generally a stalking type, Malibu Pier is likely to

get the jump on Blind Luck.

It Tiz, the winner of the grassy Le Cle S. last July, has been found wanting

at the graded level in the past. On the other hand, a change of tactics --

putting her on the lead -- two starts back resulted in a clear second in the

Life Is Sweet S. to the up-and-coming Washington Bridge (Yankee Gentleman).

FASHION TREND (Petionville), a full sister to multiple Grade 1 queen and $2

million-earner Island Fashion, steps up in class off a resounding 5 1/4-length

score in the September 24 Palomares S. at Fairplex. The gray's prior stakes

attempts yielded mixed results, a near-miss second to Antares World (Decarchy)

in the California Oaks and a too-bad-to-be-true eighth in the Torrey Pines S. in

her only unplaced effort.

Taking an even bigger hike are last-out maiden winner LIFE WELL LIVED (Tiznow),

a full sister to 2009 Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) romper Well Armed, and OUR

GEORGIA (Pulpit), who makes her dirt, American and graded debut for Neil

Drysdale.