Nine entered in Santa Monica; Scarlet Strike faces five in Santa Ysabel

Nine entered in Santa Monica; Scarlet Strike faces five in

Santa Ysabel

Teddy's Promise returned from a subpar effort in the Breeders' Cup Filly &

Mare Sprint to take the Kalookan Queen by 5 1/4 lengths, and will try to emulate

that performance on Saturday when facing eight fellow distaffers in the Grade 2,

$250,000

Santa Monica at Santa Anita.

The seven-furlong sprint is the co-feature with the Grade 3, $100,000

Santa

Ysabel sending three-year-old fillies 1 1/16 miles on a card that sports six

stakes events. The other four -- a pair of $300,000 California Breeders'

Champion events, the $100,000

Crystal

Water and the $100,000

Valentine Dancer -- are restricted to California-bred or -sired runners.

Teddy's Promise captured the Grade 1 La Brea in 2011 then returned in last

year's Santa Monica, when it was a Grade 1, to finish fifth. The Salt Lake mare

has scored in two races since then, taking the Time to Leave following the Santa

Monica and the Kalookan Queen on December 29, and will keep jockey Victor

Espinoza in the irons on Saturday.

Belle of the Hall will be making her first appearance for the Steve Asmussen

shedrow in the Santa Monica, having previously been trained by Tom Albertrani to

three stakes victories. The six-year-old daughter of Graeme Hall rallied for

fourth in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint last out, and was also fourth in

the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga. She'll get a jockey switch to Corey Nakatani

for her second straight appearance at Santa Anita.

Like Teddy's Promise, Sugarinthemorning ran in last year's Santa Monica and

will attempt to improve one spot on her neck second in that edition. The Ron

McAnally-trained Candy Ride mare has been unplaced just twice in five starts

since then, and was runner-up in the other three including the Grade 2 A Gleam

Handicap last summer. Sugarinthemorning dueled during the early part of the

California Cup Distaff most recently before fading to seventh on the turf.

Martin Garcia has the return call.

Other Santa Monica contenders include dual stakes victress Kindle, who was

just caught while trying to wire the Grade 2 Monrovia earlier this month, and

the lightly raced four-year-old Distracting, who ran second while making her

stakes bow in the Paseana Handicap and will be reverting in distance here.

The Santa Ysabel will get the stakes action underway at Santa Anita on

Saturday when the six-filly field breaks from the gate. Scarlet Strike has yet

to visit the winner's circle since taking her maiden at Del Mar going a mile

last September, but the Jerry Hollendorfer pupil has been close.

Just last out, the Smart Strike filly missed by only a nose while making her

turf bow in the Blue Norther, and she also ran second in the Grade 1 Chandelier

on Santa Anita's dirt. The multi-talented lass has had Joe Talamo aboard ever

since the Chandelier and keeps him in the saddle for this one.

Switch to the Lead is wheeling back off only five days rest, having just run

fourth in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez on Monday. The Patrick Biancone trainee will be

getting blinkers added this time around, and the Songandaprayer miss will retain

the services of Julian Leparoux on the quick turnaround.

Branding, a bay daughter of Street Sense, will be making her stakes bow in

the Santa Ysabel, while the remaining entrants -- Escape Act, Fiftyshadesofhay

and Heir Kitty -- were part of the blanket finish in the Blue Norther.

The Crystal Water and Valentine Dancer both feature four-year-olds and up on

the turf at Santa Anita, with the former race showcasing the talents of dual

stakes winner and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile fourth John Scott while the Valentine

Dancer drew Grade 1-placed multiple stakes queen Tiz Flirtatious.

The

colt and gelding division of the California Breeders' Champion has 11

entered to go a mile on the main track while the

filly division will see 11 line up in the gate.

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