Cinema J

AMERICAN

GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

ELUSIVE BLUFF (Elusive Quality) will make his first start since winning the

Pilgrim S. (G3) at Belmont Park in early October, and we'll give him top billing

in a less-than-stellar edition of Sunday's $100,000 Cinema H. (G3) at Hollywood

Park. Trained by

Eric Guillot, the unbeaten bay displayed a nice turn of foot after tracking the

pace in both starts, earning commendable BRIS numbers, and the stalker should

sit a

perfect trip close to a very moderate pace on Sunday. Michael Baze, who was up

for the Pilgrim score, will return to the saddle aboard the promising colt.

OIL MAN (Ire) (Pyrus) relished the stretch out to nine furlongs when

capturing an entry-level allowance last out. The John Sadler-trained colt owns

graded experience and is training forwardly for his return off a freshening,

recording a six-furlong bullet move in 1:12 on June 8. His BRIS Late Pace

figures are among the best, and Joel Rosario will return to the saddle aboard

the improving three-year-old. Oil Man could be rallying fastest of all among the

deep closers.

MASSONE (Menifee) merits serious respect. The Grade 1-placed runner made his

turf debut last out in the Alcatraz S. at Golden Gate Fields and left himself

with far too much to do in the stretch before rallying for third, beaten a

length. The Ron McAnally pupil recorded a whopping 112 BRIS Late Pace rating

last time, so he can finish, but the maiden winner often comes up short. We'll

use him on the bottom of our top three.

ARCODORO (Medaglia d'Oro) is still a maiden, but he's got a chance at an

upset. The Guillot trainee exits a much-improved runner-up finish in which he

set the pace before weakening slightly in deep stretch, and he could wind up as

lone speed in this spot under Joe Talamo. It's still a tall task for such an

unproven three-year-old, but Arcodoro has the potential to shake loose during

the early stages. We'll throw him in a couple of gimmicks.

HERR MOZART (Mr. Greeley) will look to offer a challenge under new rider

Victor Espinoza. He exits a win over entry-level allowance rivals and could keep

improving for conditioner Bob Baffert, but we still have some doubts about his

overall quality at this stage of his career. We'll look for more down the road

from Herr Mozart. FLASHMANS PAPERS (GB) (Exceed and Excel) owns solid

credentials, but we'll try to beat him for the win. The Doug O'Neill charge is

bred to run long, but he's raced mostly in sprints and will be tested over nine

furlongs for the first time on Sunday. He's can't be dismissed from exotics

consideration.

ARDEN PARK (Ecton Park) will receive a positive jockey switch to Rafael

Bejarano, but we didn't like the way he ran in his lone previous start in

Southern California. The Greg Gilchrist colt has the talent to be a factor at

this level, but we'll give him a race at this extended distance. DOVER STREET

ART (Ire) (Alhaarth) hasn't shown enough in three U.S. starts for us to

recommend his chances.