San Carlos

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Seven furlongs is one of the toughest distances in racing, and Saturday's San

Carlos H. (G2) at Santa Anita promises to be an exciting event. The

exceptionally speedy PROUD TOWER TOO (Proud Irish), a front-running second in

the quickly run Sunshine Millions Sprint S. on January 27, is the one to catch,

but we're going to give the nod to LATENT HEAT (Maria's Mon), who exits a

convincing victory in the Malibu S. (G1) on opening day.

Trained by Bobby Frankel, who reportedly will be in Brazil for the Carnivale,

Latent Heat forced the early issue before dropping back a bit on the turn, then

finished determinedly through the stretch for a two-length victory in the

Malibu. The lightly raced four-year-old completed the seven-furlong distance in

a sharp 1:21 1/5 and in his wake were Arson Squad (Brahms), Spring At Last

(Silver Deputy), Brother Derek (Benchmark), and Midnight Lute (Real Quiet), who

returned to finish first, second, third and fourth, respectively, in the

nine-furlong Strub S. (G2) on February 3. Latent Heat likes to attend the early

running and projects a stalk-and-pounce trip beneath Edgar Prado, who travels

from Florida to retain the mount.

Proud Tower Too won the 2005 Malibu in front-running fashion and, perhaps more importantly, the rich Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1). The bay did not start

again until the El Conejo H. (G3) on New Year's Day, where he dueled through

fast fractions before finishing third to HARVARD AVENUE (You and I) in the 5

1/2-furlong dash. Proud Tower Too shot to a clear lead in the six-furlong

Sunshine Millions Sprint, and held on well for runner-up honors, finishing in

front of Grade 1 winner Bordonaro (Memo [Chi]). He probably has the best early

speed in this race and should be a tough foe to run down.

SIREN LURE (Joyeux Danseur) closed from off the pace to win the Triple Bend

Invitational H. (G1) and Pat O'Brien Breeders' Cup H. (G2), both of which were

decided at seven furlongs, before finishing a wide eighth in the Breeders' Cup

Sprint (G1). The bay was last seen finishing a good second in the Vernon O.

Underwood S. (G3) in his first start on Cushion Track at Hollywood Park in early

December. Siren Lure is a solid closer who is two-for-two at this distance. He

is a late threat under new rider Richard Migliore.

Harvard Avenue closed from last to win the El Conejo by a nostril, then

stayed much closer to the early pace in the four-horse Palos Verdes H. (G2)

before finishing an even second. The Doug O'Neill-trained six-year-old has a

good record over this surface (9-2-2-3) and could rally in the drive for a small

share. Once-beaten TONTINE TOO (Concerto) is an early pace player who defeated

third-level allowance sorts, including SWING YOUR PARTNER (Wheaton) and

PUBLICATION (Petionville), going 6 1/2 furlongs in a swift 1:15 1/5 last out.

The chestnut gets a key rider change to Garrett Gomez and has some upset

potential at a price.

RAMSGATE (Runaway Groom), who is also trained by Frankel, comes off three

consecutive victories going this distance against allowance foes on Cushion Track.

The chestnut faces much tougher competition in this spot and would be a surprise

for all the money. NORTHERN SOLDIER (Yankee Victor) won a Grade 2 event at this

distance last season, but comes off a diminishing fifth in the Malibu. He would

need significant improvement to factor.

Swing Your Partner and Publication are both useful allowance sorts, but are

hard to recommend at this level. The latter has been plagued by numerous

layoffs. Shippers RAISE THE BLUFF (Pine Bluff) and MAJESTIC STREAM (Fusaichi

Pegasus) look too slow for these.