Malibu -- J

AMERICAN GRADED STAKES

PREVIEW

A full field of 14 sophomores will travel seven furlongs in the $250,000

Malibu S. (G1) on opening day at Santa Anita on Wednesday. A bevy of top

contenders are set to line up in this demanding race, and we feel compelled to

find some value in our selections.

DESERT CODE (E Dubai) has many things to like about him, especially the

expected big price, so we'll take a shot with the talented chestnut. The David

Hoffmans trainee has been impressive since transferring to the West Coast a

little more than a year ago, including wins in the Affirmed H. (G3) and Baldwin

S. (G3), and was a re-rallying third in the Hollywood Turf Express H. (G3)

versus elders in his return from a layoff. The Kentucky-bred has posted a trio

of nice drills in advance of his second start off the bench, he has excellent

tactical speed in a field that isn't filled with much early gas, and the colt is

well drawn on the inside which should allow him to save ground into the lane.

Richard Migliore has the call.

There is no disputing the talent of LES GRANDS TROIS (Officer), and the

lightly raced colt should be right there at the conclusion of this one. Trained

by Bobby Frankel, who saddled Latent Heat to win this race

last year, the Live Oak colorbearer was a closing second when last seen in the

Perryville S. (G3) in October and has been freshened for this engagement. The

dark bay has enough early speed to keep him in the race early, and he possesses

a strong late rally that will be tough to hold off with the proper set up.

Rafael Bejarano will be in the irons.

HORSE GREELEY (Mr. Greeley), winner of the 2006 Del Mar Futurity (G2), has raced

once in the past 14 months but merits respect on talent alone. The fast chestnut

has been training well in preparation of this start and we find it somewhat

intriguing that Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Mandella would pick this spot

for the chestnut's return. This trainer/jockey combo (Mandella/Victor Espinoza)

teamed up for a Grade 1 win on Saturday, and although we don't see this one

crossing the line first, we insist in his inclusion in the exotics.

Unbeaten Withers S. (G3) hero DIVINE PARK (Chester House) has won on three

different surfaces at three unique distances, and has posted two successive

bullet drills to prepare for this event. The Kiaran McLaughlin pupil has looked

good from the word go and is among the more talented runners in this group, but

we're slightly terrified of the 14 post that this one has been assigned. Alan

Garcia treks to the West Coast to pilot the bay, who could be especially tough

with his best.

COBALT BLUE (Golden Missile) flew home a swift winner in the Select S. on the

Breeders' Cup undercard and has the look of a strong contender in this deep

field. The Doug O'Neill trainee has had some success on the synthetic surfaces

going long but now cuts back to his preferred one-turn distance. The chestnut

colt has good tactical speed and should never be too far away from the early

tempo; from there he'll rely on Grade 1 win machine Garrett Gomez to get him

home.

Grade 1 hero GREAT HUNTER (Aptitude) will make his first start following an

unplaced effort in the Kentucky Derby (G1) for O'Neill. The Keystone State-bred

has been posting works since October, but we're not sure if he's at his optimal

distance and we think he may need a race before topping this kind of field. We

respect the dark bay and wouldn't discount him with a pace meltdown, but we

don't envision that scenario on this occasion.

JOHNNY EVES (Skimming) is the wildcard of the field as the gelding is likely

to be leading this field for the opening half-mile. The Jay Robbins charge has

improved steadily throughout the season and has proven to be a tough front-end

performer when not pressured early. If they let this California-bred bay alone

on the lead early, he could get brave and stay in front for a long while.

SILVER STETSON MAN (Silver Charm) began his career with a trio of wins on

synthetic ovals, including one locally, prior to a third-place allowance result

most recently. The Bob Baffert trainee has drilled four times to get ready for

his stakes debut and could hit the board with a top showing under Edgar Prado. E

Z WARRIOR (Exploit) has a ton of talent and would have been a prime contender

for this on the traditional dirt surface, but we have zero confidence on this

sophomore over this going.

UNUSUAL SUSPECT (Unusual Heat) has captured stakes races in three of his last

four outings and enters this one in career form for Barry Abrams. The dark bay

colt shows one placing in two synthetic tries, and we fully believe that this

one is clearly better on the turf course. CARRILERO (Arg) (Royal Academy) lacks

the credentials of many of his competitors and has raced exclusively on the

green in his three U.S. starts, so we can't back the colt in this spot.

HURRY UP AUSTIN (Lake Austin) is still eligible for a first-level allowance

condition and will be hard pressed to impact this field. IDIDN'TDOANYTHING (Trippi)

probably won't do anything to scare this field. The gelding does show a

sparkling 6-4-0-0 mark on all-weather surfaces, but looks a cut below this type.

INCRIMINATE (Unbridled's Song) needed the bob to get through non-winners of

one allowance foes and would be a total shock to us if he registers a top-four

placing.