Santa Anita Notebook

SANTA ANITA NOTEBOOK

MARCH 27, 2009

by John Mucciolo

A pair of graded events led the way at "The Great Race Place" last week.

Santa Ana H. (G2): Doubledown Stables' BELMONT CAT (NZ) (Felix the

Cat) made a strong move between runners and held off a trio of close competitors

in annexing this affair for John Sadler. The talented mare got nine panels over

the good turf in 1:48 3/5 beneath Joel Rosario.

San Luis Rey H. (G2): Juddmonte Farms' homebred MIDSHIPS (Mizzen Mast)

was allowed a clear early advantage and didn't disappoint late while pulling

clear for Bobby Frankel. The four-year-old, who was a closing third in the

Hollywood Derby (G1) in his U.S. debut, went 1 1/2 miles in 2:25 3/5 under the

guidance of Victor Espinoza.

Track Stats

From a total of 43 races held over the Arcadia racetrack during the four-day

week, favorites won at a 21 percent clip and the top two betting choices

combined for 44 percent of the wins. From 32 frays contested on the Pro-Ride

oval, 10 animals won in wire-to-wire fashion (31 percent), while three of the 11

grassy tussles went all the way on the lead (27 percent).

Speed was very good on the main oval, especially early in the week when eight

of the 18 Pro-Ride events were taken in front-running fashion. The trend didn't

hold true later in the week, though, and it possibly had to do with the moisture

the track received. We did witness horses running big from off the pace, but the

numbers don't lie.

The turf was firm early in the week and animals into the race early may have

held a very slight edge.

Meet Totals

RACES:		554
PRO-RIDE:		425
TURF:		129
FAVORITES:		180 (32 percent)
2ND CHOICES:		116 (21 percent)
TURF WIRE:		29 (22 percent)
PRO-RIDE WIRE:		87 (20 percent)

Post Positions (wins):

RAIL:		67
1-3:		221
4-6:		209
7-out:		124

HORSES TO WATCH

Wednesday (3/18)

7TH -- GLOBETROTTER (Street Cry [Ire]) returned from an extended layoff to

split a pair of solid horses in this test for John Sadler. We fully expect this

one to be a huge threat next out, on the lawn or synthetic.

Thursday (3/19)

3RD -- LIFE GOES ON (Vindication) was sitting on a win after running a solid

second last out, and the Bob Baffert charge did not disappoint with a convincing

score on this occasion. The sophomore colt should be live in his first try

versus winners if he's not placed over his head.

7TH -- The A.C. Avila-trained UNUSUAL SMOKE (Unusual Heat) pulled away late

from a stakes-quality field, completing his final five-sixteenths in a sharp :30

4/5. The four-year-old, who gave six pounds to the second and third-place

finishers, will be tough in his return with anything resembling this.

Friday (3/20)

4TH -- MORT ROBBINS (Unusual Heat) was clearly second best while suffering a

narrow defeat in here, suggesting that the gelding won't be a maiden for long.

5TH -- UNION SCALE (Richter Scale) makes this list for the second straight

time after another game showing for Sadler, falling a length short in this one.

Of the top five finishers, this gelding was the only one closer than sixth at

the half-mile mark.

6TH -- The well-bred SANGAREE (Awesome Again) got the job done in here for

Baffert, and the four-year-old is an interesting one to watch as the year

progresses.

Saturday (3/21)

3RD -- SMOKIN ANNE (Smoke Glacken), who had not raced since the Del Mar

meeting of 2006, showed little rust in running this bunch off their feet for Bob

Hess Jr. The five-year-old mare will not be in for a tag next out.

4TH -- We feel that Avila made a nice claim of BLAME THE WINE (Decarchy), who

won yet again for Doug O' Neill. The gritty filly is in excellent form and is

always a threat at this level.

7TH -- ARTISTE ROYAL (Ire) (Danehill) is not at his best at 1 1/2 miles, and

he had no pace to run at, so we're willing to forgive the loss by the Neil

Drysdale trainee in here.

9TH -- DODGEN BULLETS (El Corredor) put in another brave effort in his second

off the bench for Baffert. It's obvious that the speedster likes this turf

course.

Sunday (3/22)

2ND -- CHALULA ONE (Bertrando), who received a questionable ride from Victor

Espinoza two back, had a great trip under his guidance this time around to prove

best for Richard Mandella. The three-year-old California-bred finished up her

final quarter-mile in a swift :23 2/5.

4TH -- SOUL CITY SLEW (Slew City Slew) should not have gone off 7-1 against

this field, as the synthetic-lover has kept excellent company over the past 18

months and was due for a winning run. We'll play him back at this level any

time.

A Look Ahead

The $100,000 Tokyo City Cup S. (G3) and $100,000 Santa Paula S. (G3) are the

top weekend stakes races at Santa Anita.