Brother Derek, Arson Squad try again in San Fernando

Multiple Grade 1 hero BROTHER DEREK (Benchmark) is but one of five Malibu S.

(G1) runners returning on Saturday to try their luck in the second leg of the

Strub Series, the $200,000 San Fernando Breeders' Cup S. (G2). The Malibu kicked

off the series on December 26, with Latent Heat (Maria's Mon) recording an easy

two-length score in the seven-furlong test. However, trainer Bobby Frankel has

decided not to send his charge to the other two legs in favor of waiting for the

April 7 Carter H. (G1), clearing the way for another four-year-old to win on Saturday.

Brother Derek enters the 1 1/16-mile San Fernando looking for his first win since taking

the Santa Anita Derby (G1) last April. The Dan

Hendricks-trained bay strung together three straight wins over the oval last year,

all at distances of a mile or more, and finished second in the 1 1/8-mile Goodwood Breeders' Cup H. (G2) at Santa Anita

last October. Brother Derek

will have to carry the highweight of 122 pounds on Saturday and flip-flops

jockeys with ARSON SQUAD (Brahms) to get Alex Solis back in the saddle.

Solis rode Arson Squad to an eighth-place finish in the Malibu, but the Bruce

Headley charge had to run wide throughout that event. Prior to that race, Arson

Squad had finished off-the-board only once, that coming as a fourth in the

La Jolla H. (G2) in mid-August, and he'll get Brother Derek's Malibu jockey,

Garrett Gomez, in the irons on Saturday.

The Bob Baffert-trained MIDNIGHT LUTE (Real Quiet) didn't break well in the

Malibu, but he finished strongly to grab third. In his stakes debut two starts

back, the well regarded colt captured the Perryville S. (G3) at Keeneland by 4

3/4 lengths. Midnight Lute will stretch out to two turns for the first time in

the San Fernando with regular rider Victor Espinoza at the helm.

The well traveled HALO STEVEN (Halo's Image) didn't run in the Malibu. Now

conditioned by John Sadler, the gelding began his

career in Florida, raced at Santa Anita early last year, posting a 1-2-1 mark in

four starts, and then shipped

north to earn his first stakes win in the Jim Coleman Province H. at Hastings

Park. The four-year-old was pulled up in the Canadian Derby (Can-G3) in August,

but quickly rebounded from that setback with a front-running score in the British

Columbia Derby (Can-G3) last out in late September. Halo Steven will have Martin

Garcia aboard for the first time.

The complete 12-horse field for the San Fernando, with jockeys and weights, is

A. P. XCELLENT (A.P. Indy), Jon Court, 116; OBJECTIVE (El Corredor), Jorge

Chavez, 116; AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again), Tyler Baze, 116; Halo Steven, 120; SOUL CITY SLEW (Slew City Slew), Clinton Potts, 116; Arson Squad,

120;

SPRING AT LAST (Silver Deputy), Corey Nakatani, 116; Brother Derek; Midnight

Lute, 118; BIG MISTAKE (Broken Vow), Alex Bisono,

116; SENSATIONAL SCORE (Wild Rush), David Flores, 116; and HELLO SUNDAY (Fr)

(Poliglote [GB]), Richard Migliore, 118.

Also on Saturday, West Coast sophomores will have the opportunity to compete

in one of the first graded events of 2007 for three-year-olds. A field of seven

will line up in the $150,000 San Rafael S. (G2) going a mile, and NOTIONAL (In

Excess [Ire]) is looking to redeem himself on the dirt after running on the Cushion Track at

Hollywood Park in his past two. The Doug O'Neill charge broke his maiden during

the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet, and represented himself well when third in the

Hollywood Prevue S. (G3) next out. The bay colt didn't fare as well in the

Hollywood Futurity (G1) in his last one, finishing sixth, and will be getting

blinkers added to help his chances on Saturday.

HALF FAMOUS (Tribal Rule) has finished off-the-board only twice from seven

career starts, and most recently captured his first stakes victory in the Lost

in the Fog Juvenile S. at Turf Paradise by 2 3/4 lengths. The chestnut will be stretching out

past 6 1/2 furlongs for the first time here and brings regular jockey Michael Iammarino

with him from Arizona. Another contender is TENFOLD (Tiznow), who made his

debut a half-length second on Hollywood's Cushion Track in early December.

Returning just 17 days later, the Baffert trainee easily defeated seven

rivals in a maiden at Santa Anita, scoring by two lengths, and will be trying

for two in a row while making his stakes debut.

Half Famous leads the post parade and will be followed by SILENT SOUL

(Afternoon Deelites), Migliore; Notional, Nakatani; GRAPELLI (Thunder Gulch),

Gomez; Tenfold, Espinoza; TAP IT LIGHT (General Meeting), David Cohen; and

SOLDIER (Quiet American), Baze.

All starters will carry 116 pounds.