Santa Anita Notebook

SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK

JANUARY 14, 2015

by John Mucciolo

A pair of Grade 2 events headlined the third week of racing at Santa Anita.

San Pasqual S. (G2): Watson, Weitman and Pegram's HOPPERTUNITY (Any Given

Saturday) broke slowest of all, got into contention while saving ground and

proved much the best with a big closing kick en route to a 1 3/4-length score

under Martin Garcia. The Bob Baffert trainee clocked 1 1/16 miles on the fast

main strip in 1:41 3/5 to bag a second straight graded trophy.

Sham S. (G2): Richard Pell's CALCULATOR (In Summation) moved to the fore in

early stretch and powered home a convincing 4 1/4-length winner for conditioner

Peter Miller, breaking his maiden in fine fashion. The talented Florida-bred

sped one mile on the fast main strip in 1:34 4/5 under the guidance of Elvis

Trujillo.

Track Stats

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

past week, favorites won at a 47 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 68 percent of the wins. From 27 frays contested on the dirt oval,

nine animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (33 percent), while one of the seven

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

Speed was dominant on Sunday over the sealed oval, and that is something to

keep in mind the next time precipitation falls at Santa Anita. From nine races,

five winners led at every call and eight of the nine were first or second in the

early going.

A high percentage of winning favorites during the week says the track played

fairly for the most part, except for on Sunday, and kudos to the handicappers

who saw and cashed in on the bias to close out the week.

It remains tough to lead at every call on the lawn through three weeks of

racing, as just two have done so, both coming in downhill sprint runs.

Meet Totals

RACES:		104
DIRT:		75
TURF:		29
FAVORITES:		42 (40 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		21 (20 percent)
TURF WIRE:		2 (7 percent)
DIRT WIRE:		21 (28 percent)

HORSES TO WATCH

Thursday (1/8)

2ND -- BENCH LIGHT (Benchmark) was all heart in the lane and fell just short

for conditioner Mike Pender. The gelding has really come to hand since focusing

upon marathon turf routes and is going good presently.

5TH -- FOREST CHATTER (Dixie Chatter) was geared down late after putting his

foes away near midstretch in a fine maiden tally, and the Richard Mandella pupil

will loom large against winners right back.

Friday (1/9)

5TH -- ENTRECHAT (Giant's Causeway) was wide every step of the way but still

ran a big one when surging late, finishing a fine second in her debut on the

tricky downhill turf course under Kieren Fallon. The sophomore filly from the

Neil Drysdale barn ran huge for a conditioner that doesn't have them cranked up

at first asking and could be a nice one with more seasoning.

7TH -- CONSCIENCE (Indian Charlie) came up a little short but we still have

faith in the Tom Proctor trainee, who is searching for his niche. The

four-year-old gelding has a lot of speed and has shown versatility in handling

multiple surfaces to this point.

Saturday (1/10)

2ND -- GLORY (Tapit) has impressed us to this point and is surely a sophomore

to watch this season for conditioner Jerry Hollendorfer. The bay filly is bred

to run all day so that makes her running big in a pair of sprint runs so far all

the more impressive.

We're not sure what WILD AT HEART (Indian Charlie) finished in front of in a

fine runner-up finish, but the Richard Mandella pupil surely has ability after

crossing the wire more than nine lengths clear of her nearest foe.

6TH -- ROCK SHANDY (Rock Hard Ten) was well clear of second in his dirt debut

and could have a nice year ahead of him for Miller. The versatile sophomore will

be stakes bound in his subsequent outing and is a player on any surface.

8TH -- We simply love Hoppertunity and think he might be among the top

handicap runners on the loaded West Coast, which is a big compliment considering

the stars he will likely be facing in 2015.

A Look Ahead

The Holiday Weekend will play host to a pair of Grade 2, $200,000 races at

Santa Anita. The co-features are the La Canada Stakes on Saturday and the Santa

Monica Stakes on Monday.