Santa Anita Notebook

SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK

FEBRUARY 26, 2014

by John Mucciolo

There was no graded racing this week at Santa Anita.

Track Stats

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

past week, favorites won at a 50 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 74 percent of the wins. From 21 frays contested on the dirt oval,

eight animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (38 percent), while four of the 13

grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (31 percent).

Speed on the main oval was good again this week, making it two straight weeks

with this trend. We're not ready to call the oval biased, especially when there

was such a large amount of favorites coming through. With that said, being in

the race early on was surely not a deterrent.

Horses that broke from the inner six slots accounted for 20 of the 21 winners

on the dirt last week -- but some of that is certainly due to numerous smaller

field sizes.

Of the four horses to lead all the way on the turf, three of those occurred

in route races with just one going down the hill.

If you haven't noticed by now, trainer John Sadler is firing on all cylinders

the past two weeks after a very slow start to this meeting. We suggest using

everything he sends out until his stable cools.

Meet Totals

RACES:		334
DIRT:		219
TURF:		115
FAVORITES:		124 (37 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		71 (21 percent)
TURF WIRE:		19 (17 percent)
DIRT WIRE:		46 (21 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (2/20)

7TH -- The Karen Headley-trained SAN ONOFRE (Surf Cat) rolled home to a third

straight win at this meeting and continues to impress here. Facing his best

field to date, the four-year-old gelding came home a measured winner in a swift

1:14 2/5 for 6 1/2 panels. We would imagine the Kentucky-bred has a stakes

engagement in the very near future.

8TH --  We're not sure how deep this field was, but first-time starter

DISREGARDED (Artie Schiller) put in a fine late run to be second at first asking

for Kristin Mulhall. The sophomore lass gave up ground throughout and still

finished more than three lengths of her nearest foe in a very positive start to

her career under Martin Garcia. Tab her for future success with expected

improvement.

Friday (2/21)

5TH -- INCLINE VILLAGE (Unbridled's Song) finally put it all together and in

a big way, as the Brian Koriner-trained five-year-old rolled past this group in

the lane to win by 5 1/2-widening lengths. The gelding has been live at the tote

on a few occasions, and this could surely be the start of a fine form cycle.

Saturday (2/22)

5TH -- SIDEBAR (Closing Argument) tracked in third, began to gather momentum

approaching the turn for home, and left his rivals for dead in the stretch in

posting a powerful, 4 1/4-length score beneath Agapito Delgadillo. The Bill

Spawr pupil has been consistent to this point and looks ready to deal with open

foes in the near future after clocking her final quarter-mile in :24 2/5.

6TH -- BARUTA (Crimson Tide) was alert early, moved into prime contention in

the stretch and fell just a bit short behind a solid winner for conditioner

Richard Mandella. The Group 1-placed import ran like a horse needing a race in

here and could be any kind going forward as he acclimated to his new

surroundings.

Sunday (2/23)

3RD -- The Bob Baffert-trained KEY VISTA (Redattore) took the lead on the

backside and pulled away late in her 2014 debut under Martin Garcia. The

California-bred mare got away with racing for a tag for the first time, and she

will always be a prime player at similar levels going forward.

7TH -- Conditioner John Sadler looks to have made a sharp claim of race

winner PRESIDING JUSTICE (Successful Appeal), who went last to first in a fine

debut tally in this spot. The gelded sophomore had little speed in the early

going but came home with a rush, getting his final five-sixteenths in a

sensational :29 1/5! We recommend watching the replay of the race to appreciate

this late explosion.

A Look Ahead

The lone graded race of the week is Saturday when sophomore fillies will

travel 1 1/16 miles in the Grade 3, $100,000 Santa Ysabel Stakes.