La Habra

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Ten sophomore fillies will travel about 6 1/2 furlongs on Santa Anita's

unique downhill turf

course in Saturday's $100,000 La Habra S. (G3). Irish import

PORTO MARMAY (Ire) (Choisir) was last seen crushing her rivals in a listed race

at Tipperary and will make her U.S. debut for top turf conditioner Julio Canani. The chestnut miss has had plenty of time to acclimate to her new

surroundings, posting at least a dozen works over the Arcadia,

California, track in

preparation for her stateside bow, and she will be treated with Lasix for the

initial time. Although we're not fond of the rail draw in these races, we'll

still side with this miss. David Flores has the assignment for a trainer who

hits at a 36 percent clip with horses shipping to the United States.

ARIEGE (Doneraile Court) had no room in the stretch of the Blue Norther S. in her U.S. debut for Bobby Frankel, but the talented

filly appears to be the one to beat in this group with a clear run. The dark bay

was a dominant maiden winner in her debut and finished a close fourth in the

Debutante S. (Ire-G2) in her subsequent try, leading us to believe that she fits

well in this spot. Frankel appoints Garrett Gomez to the saddle, something that

shouldn't be taken lightly, and we fully expect improvement from this strong win

contender.

PASSION (Came Home) displayed good ability in her debut for Todd Pletcher,

and made a big impression on us with her facile score off the shelf in

preparation for this start. The dark bay miss owns plenty of tactical speed and should be

just off the pace early, giving her first run on the closers under Rafael Bejarano. We're concerned about Gomez getting off this filly, but

she should still be in the hunt late with minor improvement.

SWEET AUGUST MOON (Malibu Moon) intrigues us as she could

be lone speed, and we will include the improving dark bay in our exotics. The

Brian Koriner pupil ran into some nice fillies in her initial three starts and

responded well when given a brief freshening by her smart conditioner. The filly

lacks the credentials of many of her foes, but could hang around for a long time

if allowed a clear early lead beneath Aaron Gryder.

YASINISI  (Ire) (Kalanisi [Ire]) was just a head behind Ariege in the

Blue Norther when making her U.S. bow, and the Paddy Gallagher filly is another with a

live exotics shot on this day. The dark bay will need a pace casualty or two in

order to hit the board, but that's not out of the question. Alex Solis retains

the mount.

FANATICAL (GB) (Mind Games) bears watching in here as she kept good company

in England and should be ready to roll for trainer James Cassidy. The dark

bay filly took her debut in fine fashion, proving that she can run well fresh,

and she finished admirably in a 28-horse field in her 2007 finale. Mike Smith

has the call on this exotics threat.

Grade 1 queen SET PLAY (Van Nistelrooy) has been racing in elite company

frequently and could appreciate the class relief for Peter Miller. The

chestnut miss has been freshened and returns to her preferred sprint racing, but

we've never been high on her and we'll let her beat us on this day.

CZECHERS (Indian Charlie) has placed in two consecutive stakes events for

trainer Mark Glatt but will make her turf debut in this spot. The tactical dark

bay has not shown us the turn of foot to be a big factor in here, but we

wouldn't completely toss her from the gimmicks. LA MINA (Mineshaft) is perfect

from two starts over this lawn, including a clear score in the Hidden Light S.

three prior for trainer Mike Mitchell. However, the bay filly has amassed BRIS Speed

numbers that don't match up well with this field, and we'll take a stand against

her for that reason. French import BRIDES FOLLY (Tale of the Cat) is a bit of an unknown to us and

we'd prefer to watch one before siding in her corner.