San Pasqual

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

WELL ARMED (Tiznow) will return to the races against 11 rivals in Saturday's

$150,000 San Pasqual H. (G2) at Santa Anita, and we won't go against the likely

favorite. His connections probably ran him too short on Breeders' Cup Day,

resulting in a disappointing ninth as the favorite in the Dirt Mile, and while

we like him better at nine furlongs or 1 1/4 miles, the Eoin Harty-conditioned

gelding did manage to win a Grade 2 event at 1 1/16 miles last year. He's been

training forwardly for his six-year-old debut, and we'll look for Well Armed to

be stalking the pace under Aaron Gryder before asserting his superiority.

Woodward S. (G1) runner-up PAST THE POINT (Indian Charlie) rebounded from a

disappointing fifth as the favorite in the Meadowlands Cup H. (G2) two starts

back to finish second in the Native Diver H. (G3) last time, and the

five-year-old gives Harty an excellent shot at the exacta on Saturday. He's won

on a synthetic track before, and the Darley colorbearer owns excellent tactical

speed, registering a 124 E2 Pace figure in the Woodward. Past the Point earned a

106 BRIS Speed rating on two occasions last season, and he'll enter this event

on the upswing.

MARCHFIELD (A.P. Indy) will invade from Canada for Mark Casse, and the

five-year-old ended his 2008 campaign in good form, recording a 2-2-0 mark in

his last four starts. He's drawn well in post 2, and the Canadian-bred horse is

two for two at the distance. Marchfield is a strong candidate to make his

presence felt in the lane under Patrick Husbands.

NOBLE COURT (Doneraile Court) is an intriguing entrant who could possibly

factor while stretching out in distance. A Grade 2 winner over seven furlongs,

the five-year-old did capture a two-turn event at Del Mar in 2007, and he

appears to be rounding back into top form presently for John Sadler following a

close third in the six-furlong Vernon O. Underwood S. (G3) last time. Noble

Court owns solid BRIS numbers, and he merits serious respect for the exotics.

MOSTACOLLI MORT (Hold for Gold) rallied for third behind Well Armed in the

San Diego H. (G2) last September, and the five-year-old will make his first start

for Sadler after being claimed for $80,000 in his last outing. He rallied well

for runner-up honors last time, netting a 113 BRIS Late Pace rating, and there

appears to be plenty of pace to set up his late run here. We also like the fact

that he'll be able to save ground from the rail. Consider for part at long odds.

COWBOY CAL (Giant's Causeway) ran well when finishing second in the Blue

Grass S. (G1) on Polytrack, but he got away with a soft pace on the lead that

afternoon and will have to revert to rating tactics here. He will be making his

third start off the layoff following two extremely promising efforts, a victory

in the Bryan Station S. (G3) via disqualification and a second in the Hollywood

Derby (G1), but we like the front-running colt better on turf and will try to

beat him in this spot. We still respect the Todd Pletcher trainee's chances for

a top-three finish.

Grade 2 hero BALL FOUR (Grand Slam) loves synthetic tracks and will take his

rivals as far as he can on the front end. Winner of the Fayette S. (G3) two

starts back at Keeneland, he weakened to third last time in the Native Diver and

will step up to face tougher here. We won't be surprised to see him last a long

way, but we'll let Ball Four beat us.

Native Diver upsetter SLEW'S TIZZY (Tiznow) will likely show early speed

after being marooned in the far outside post, but we can't envision him

sustaining it this time around. BLUE EXIT (Pulpit) was well-backed in his first

two U.S. starts, but he finished a dull fourth on the Pro-Ride in September

prior to a bad drubbing in the Oak Tree Derby (G2) last out. Considering how

consistent a performer he was in Europe, we'll need to see something positive

from the colt in the United States before backing him.

RACKETEER (Awesome Again) is drawn in post 11 and doesn't look fast enough to

challenge. INFORMED (Tiznow) will test stakes company once again for Doug

O'Neill, but he probably needs a softer spot to be effective. MAGNUM (Arg) (El

Compinche) owns plenty of back class, but we can't recommend his chances based

on his recent form.