Santa Anita Notebook

SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK

APRIL 29, 2015

by John Mucciolo

A pair of graded stakes races topped the weekend at Santa Anita.

Last Tycoon S. (G3): Red Baron's Barn et al's SI SAGE (Sageburg) tracked in

second, swept to the front in early stretch and stayed clear in the lane en

route to a 3 1/4-length romp under Elvis Trujillo. The five-year-old endured 1

1/4 miles on the firm turf in 2:02 for conditioner Darrell Vienna.

Wilshire H. (G3): Class Racing Stable's BLINGISMYTHING (Arch) put in a big

run in early stretch and held a few good ones at bay late in securing a nose

score, recording her first stakes tally. The Eric Kruljac trainee, who was

guided by Tyler Baze, finished off one mile on the firm lawn in 1:37.

Track Stats

From a total of 25 races held at the Arcadia, California racetrack during the

past week, favorites won at a 20 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 56 percent of the wins. From 16 frays contested on the dirt oval,

six animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (38 percent), while one of the nine

grassy tilts were taken all the way on the front end (11 percent).

We thought the Sunday card featured a possible bias, playing much better for

horses coming from off the pace. All five dirt winners rallied in the lane

outside and each of those broke from posts 4-through-6. Friday, on the other

hand, yielded four wire-to-wire winners from five dirt events.

Meet Totals

RACES:		612
DIRT:		419
TURF:		193
FAVORITES:		226 (37 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		118 (19 percent)
TURF WIRE:		29 (15 percent)
DIRT WIRE:		92 (22 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Friday (4/24)

1ST -- BENTLEY'S GONE (Warrior's Reward) left little doubt in the Friday

opener, leading throughout for conditioner Marty Jones. The sophomore colt

didn't run especially fast but did do it with infinite ease and should be tough

for starter foes next time, assuming he lands with the sort.

Saturday (4/25)

1ST -- JONNY'S CHOICE (Unusual Heat) dueled through fast early splits and

still had horse left in the lane in a pretty solid victory for trainer Mark

Glatt. The sic-year-old gelding fits well at this level and will be a player

right back if in with similar following the big class drop.

2ND -- The talented WAR ACADEMY (Giant's Causeway) showed little rust in this

dash off the long break in posting a swift allowance win under Victor Espinoza.

The five-year-old gelding could turn out to be a decent claim for Emily Mode,

even though we were pretty surprised to see him entered for a tag.

CAMINETTO (Stormy Atlantic) also impressed us with a big second behind a

sharp winner in his first appearance in some time. The lightly raced

six-year-old likes this main oval and could be even tougher next time having one

under his belt.

6TH -- PAULINA'S LOVE (Mizzen Mast) certainly responded to the combination of

the barn change and addition of blinkers, dominating this field in a very nice

maiden tally. The Richard Baltas trainee increased her margin at every call in

posting a lifetime-best 92 BRIS Speed number.

8TH -- SI SAGE ran the most impressive race we have seen since he imported to

the U.S. and we have to think the addition of the blinkers had a lot to do with

that. We wouldn't take this one's easy win lightly as he may simply be a

different animal with the headgear.

Sunday (4/26)

2ND -- BELLA BREEZE (Concord Point) sped to the front early on and nearly

pulled off a nice debut win in just missing under the line. The Doug O'Neill

pupil overcame a tricky rail post first out, and though this was not a stocked

field, we expect her to graduate in the near future.

6TH -- We expected that ROCKO'S WHEEL (Grazen) might appreciate the two-turn

attempt for the first time and he did just that in what we thought was a strong

allowance tally beneath Joe Talamo. The sophomore colt upended a nice one and

the top duo was well clear of their nearest foes.

A Look Ahead

Two graded races will take place over the weekend at "The Great Race Place."

Saturday has the $100,000 Precisionist Stakes (G3), while Sunday will play host

to the $200,000 Honeymoon Stakes (G2).