Norfolk

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A smart field of 10 juveniles will attempt two turns in the $250,000 Norfolk

S. (G1) at Santa Anita on Sunday. Much of the hype surrounding this field lies

with the Bob Baffert-trained MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled's Song), but we have to try

to beat the chestnut at expected low odds in a field like this.

Darley Stable's REGAL RANSOM (Distorted Humor) cost $675,000 at the Fasig-Tipton

February sale, and showed a glimpse of why his connections purchased him with a

well-meant win at Saratoga in his debut for Kiaran McLaughlin. The dark bay colt

showed excellent speed that day and drove home at the tricky seven-furlong

distance under Alan Garcia, and we're impressed that Garcia made the trek out

west to retain the mount on the Kentucky-bred. Regal Ransom was flattered when

both the second and third-place finishers in his race came back to win

convincingly, and this one has trained brilliantly over a synthetic oval leading

up to his two-turn debut.

Midshipman has been brilliant for Baffert in his two outings, including a fine score in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in his latest test. The long-striding

chestnut has done little wrong in two lifetime tries and has drawn rave reviews

from his trainer, so it's apparent that this one could be any type. Tyler Baze

will guide the likely short-priced favorite.

SILENT VALOR (Lion Heart), the recent winner of the Sapling S. (G3), ships in

from the east for conditioner Todd Pletcher. The solid dark bay has never run a

bad one in a trio of lifetime efforts and is a prime contender in this spot

while making his two-turn debut. We have confidence in the colt's ability and running

style, and we love the fact that Garrett Gomez will take the call.

STREET HERO (Street Cry [Ire]), arguably the top maiden on the West Coast,

earned a whopping 105 BRIS Late Pace number in his third-place finish in the

recent Del Mar Futurity, putting in a visually impressive late rush for Myung

Kwon Cho. The talented bay is certainly bred to handle the added ground in

here, and the addition of blinkers could help him focus more, so we consider the

winless colt a big threat on this day.

BELIEVE IN HOPE (Thunder Gulch) looked fabulous in his debut score and

finished a creditable fifth in the Del Mar Futurity, closing from well back to finish

less than four lengths behind the winner. We don't feel like the chestnut can

make up that ground on the winner in here, but it is a new surface they're

running upon and this one could rally for a minor award for Ron Ellis. AZUL LEON (Lion Heart) was awarded first in the recent Best Pal S. (G2) and

brings a perfect mark into this for Doug O'Neill. The bay colt has displayed a

potent late run in his three lifetime tries, all at one turn against mediocre

company, but we have some trepidation as to how the youngster will handle his

first two-turn test against a field of this quality. The Kentucky-bred is an

obvious exotics threat, but we'll let him beat us in here.

LITURGICAL (Songandaprayer) is a bit of a mystery in his U.S. debut for O'Neill and

would have to be quite good to challenge this bunch. We might include the bay

is some of our gimmicks but can't back him for the win in this one. TIGER BLITZ

(Tiger Ridge) defeated a questionable bunch in his latest and would need vast

improvement for Vladimir Cerin to threaten this cast.

BRUSHBURN (Unusual Heat) might need an easier spot based on his numbers. DEL CONTE (Point Given) needed turf to earn his diploma for Baffert, and the

chestnut doesn't boast the BRIS Speed figures to be competitive with this bunch at

this stage of his career.