Buetane, Explora horses to beat at Santa Anita

Trainer Bob Baffert will again be heavily favored to win the $200,000 San Vicente (G2) at Santa Anita on Saturday, as he saddles two leading contenders in the five-horse, seven-furlong dash.

The most notable of the duo is Buetane, last seen finishing a distant second to presumptive division champion Ted Noffey in the Sept. 1 Hopeful (G1). Buetane was actually favored in the Saratoga fixture off a successful debut at Del Mar, but couldn't keep pace through the stretch and lost by 8 1/2 lengths.

Baffert, a 14-time San Vicente winner, also saddles Greenwich Village, a son of Quality Road who scored by a half-length in his Dec. 6 debut at Los Alamitos.

Although not an official Road to the Kentucky Derby prep, six winners of the San Vicente over the past 75 years have gone on to win the Derby, the latest being Nyquist 10 years ago. That dual champion was trained by Doug O'Neill, who also has two runners in this edition.

Thirsty Rebel, 0-for-3 in stakes company, enters off a six-length victory in an allowance for California-breds, which garnered a 100 Brisnet Speed rating. Acknowledgemeplz, meanwhile, faded badly to fourth when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles for last month's Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).

The field is rounded out by So Happy, who pulled off a 38-1 shocker first out in a 6 1/2-length maiden at Del Mar on Nov. 22.

Earlier in the card, all five entries in the $100,000 Santa Ynez S. for three-year-old fillies are assured of earning Kentucky Oaks (G1) qualifying points, which will be distributed on a 10-5-3-2-1 basis.

The seven-furlong Santa Ynez, postponed from last week due to inclement weather, is headed by Explora, a Baffert trainee who sandwiched a victory in the Oak Leaf (G2) in between runner-up efforts in the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). Favored at 3-2 in the latter, she fell three parts of a length short of stakes newcomer Super Corredora.

Baffert also saddles Bottle of Rouge, who beat Explora by a length at Del Mar before finishing sixth in their Breeders' Cup rematch. A third Baffert entry, Himika, beat Bottle of Rouge on debut and later captured the Sorrento (G3) and Anoakia S. She is winless, however, in three attempts beyond six furlongs.

La Wally placed in the Del Mar Debutante and Oak Leaf before finishing eighth in the Juvenile Fillies, while Revera has traded wins with Himika in her last two, most recently prevailing in the Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar.