Santa Anita Notebook

SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK

JUNE 18, 2014

by John Mucciolo

A pair of Grade 1 races took place this week at Santa Anita.

Shoemaker Mile (G1): Fanticola and Scardino's OBVIOUSLY (Choisir) sped

to the lead in customary fashion, set wicked splits and once again forgot to

stop in a sensational score under Joe Talamo. The Phil d'Amato trainee was 1 1/2

lengths clear under the wire, finishing off one mile on the firm turf in 1:32

3/5.

Vanity H. (G1): Hronis Racing LLC's IOTAPA (Afleet Alex) secured an

early lead from her rail post and widened her edge at every call en route to a

10 1/4-length dusting of her foes for John Sadler. The four-year-old dark bay

stopped the teletimer in 1:47 3/5 for nine panels on the fast main strip under

Talamo.

Track Stats

From a total of 34 races held at the Arcadia, California racetrack during the

past week, favorites won at a 38 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 44 percent of the wins. From 20 frays contested on the dirt oval,

seven animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (35 percent), while two of the 14

grassy tilts were taken all the way on the front end (14 percent).

In our opinion, speed was good on the main oval this week, especially in

route races. We did witness horses rallying from off the pace on dirt, but for

the most part, being in the mix early was important. Of the seven wire jobs on

the main strip, four came in sprint runs and the other trio on the green.

The turf course, while still producing fast times, was good for all sorts as

we saw wire-to-wire winners and runners going last-to-first.

Keep an eye on trainers Jorge Gutierrez and Phil d'Amato -- both had big

weeks and conditioners are streaky on a whole, so each may have another live one

or two going postward this week.

Meet Totals

RACES:		860
DIRT:		552
TURF:		308
FAVORITES:		284 (33 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		216 (26 percent)
TURF WIRE:		68 (22 percent)
DIRT WIRE:		146 (26 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (6/12)

6TH -- LA PEQUENA GIGI (Sky Mesa) looks like a nice claim by Hector Palma

after this sophomore miss dominated her foes going down the hill to graduate

under Tyler Baze. The Keystone State-bred was more than five lengths clear under

the wire in a sharp final time for the level, and should be a big force in her

subsequent outing, likely with starter foes.

Friday (6/13)

4TH -- Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer unveiled a promising youngster in ATTA' BOY

WOODY (Atticus), who pummeled this field at first asking. The California-bred

juvenile colt dueled and then pulled away in the lane while widening with each

stride, and he could be a nice one for sure being bred to run longer, and

perhaps on the lawn.

7TH -- TEXAS RYANO (Curlin) put in a spirited late run after being last

early, to reel in a clear odds-on favorite and win this allowance tilt going

away for conditioner Carla Gaines. The three-year-old colt will likely try

stakes foes in the very near future after this fine closing run, getting his

final eighth in a snappy :11 1/5.

Saturday (6/14)

5TH -- LIL BIT O'FUN (Langfuhr) came off the nine-month absence and was no

worse for the wear, as the Phil d'Amato pupil inhaled his foes in the lane to

dust a pretty solid field. The six-year-old has now won two straight dating back

to the fall, and he seems to have found a home sprinting down the hill.

Sunday (6/15)

8TH -- WAR ACADEMY (Giant's Causeway) pressed the pace to the top of the lane

and took command from there, eventually pulling away for a 2 1/2-length tally in

his second race back from more than a year off. The Bob Baffert-conditioned

four-year-old has been sharp this campaign and he gave the impression of a horse

who could negotiate more ground going forward. We consider the gelding to be an

exciting prospect.

A Look Ahead

Sophomore fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the main oval in the lone

graded race this weekend, the Grade 2, $200,000 Summertime Oaks.