Strub

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

The $250,000 Strub S. (G2) is the fourth and final graded stakes event on

Saturday's blockbuster card at Santa Anita, and a solid group of 13

four-year-olds will contest the 1 1/8-mile event over Pro-Ride. The

preponderance of turf horses in the line-up immediately strikes us when we look

at the field, giving further credence to the notion that the synthetic tracks

play more like turf than dirt.

GIO PONTI (Tale of the Cat) raced exclusively on grass before making his

Pro-Ride debut in the off-the-turf Sir Beaufort S. (G3) on December 26, and the

Christophe Clement trainee took to the new ground like a duck to water, rolling

to a decisive 1 1/2-length score. The Grade 2 victor notched a 101 BRIS Late

Pace rating for his powerful finish, and he's trained forwardly since then,

registering four works last month at Santa Anita. Gio Ponti is drawn favorably

in post 5 with Garrett Gomez, and we'll give the late runner top billing.

COWBOY CAL (Giant's Causeway) is clearly better on turf than dirt, recording

two graded victories and a close second in the Hollywood Derby (G1) last year,

and he's had no trouble making the transition to synthetic. The Todd Pletcher

runner finished second by a neck in the 2008 Blue Grass (G1) on Polytrack, and

he gamely captured the San Pasqual H. (G2) when making his Pro-Ride debut on

January 10. He'll be forwardly placed during the early stages under Johnny

Velazquez, and Cowboy Cal looms as a serious threat.

NOWNOWNOW (Whywhywhy) is another former turf horse who looks capable if he

can duplicate his Pro-Ride form from his previous start. Winner of the 2007

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, the Kentucky-bred colt dropped six straight starts

before turning things around in the San Fernando S. (G2) on January 17, closing

strongly to win the 8 1/2-furlong race going away by 2 3/4 lengths. He earned

commendable BRIS numbers in that effort, and the bay colt will make his third

start back in the care of trainer Patrick Biancone on Saturday. Nownownow looks

like a must-use in the exotics.

VICTORY PETE (Five Star Day) led the way into the stretch of the Sunshine

Millions Turf last time, and the likely pacesetter will take these rivals as far

as he can here. The Florida-bred appears to be on the improve for conditioner

Alexis Barba, and he may be able to get away with soft fractions up front under

Chantal Sutherland. Victory Pete ranks third in BRIS Prime Power (142.4), and

he's one to consider for the top three at long odds.

MEDJOOL (Monarchos) will also be tested for class, but we're encouraged by

his last couple of starts and could easily see using him on the bottom of a

couple of tickets. The chestnut established himself as a Kentucky Derby (G1)

contender last year with a fast-finishing third in the Lane's End S. (G2), but

his connections' Derby dreams ended with an unplaced showing in the Blue Grass.

Medjool appears to be making good progress for Julio Canani, who took over his

training three starts back, and the Kentucky-bred figures to be running late in

this spot.

DIXIE CHATTER (Dixie Union) has made his last three starts on turf, winning a

division of the Oceanside S. and finishing a close third in the Oak Tree Derby

(G2), and the Richard Mandella-trained colt missed by only 1 3/4 lengths when

fourth in the Hollywood Derby (G1) last out. He'll switch back to synthetic

here, and the bay colt captured the 2007 Norfolk S. (G1) over the old Cushion

Track at Santa Anita. His recent form makes us look elsewhere in this deep

field, but he's well drawn on the rail with Tyler Baze and can't be completely

dismissed from exotics consideration.

BLUE EXIT (Pulpit) rebounded from a dreadful showing in the Oak Tree Derby

with a victory over allowance/optional claiming rivals last time, but he didn't

beat much in the short field. A listed winner in France, the Jerry Hollendorfer

charge has been well regarded at the windows in all three U.S. starts, but we

have to question whether he's good enough to challenge in this spot. WISHFUL

TOMCAT (Tactical Cat) finished a decent third in the San Fernando when making

his California debut last time, but this is a more difficult spot and we'll let

the Bobby Frankel trainee beat us. SLEW'S TIZNOW (Tiznow) drew the far outside

and probably prefers a little less ground.

Grade 2 turf winner WESLEY (El Prado [Ire]) has finished off the board in his

last three outings, and we'll just watch to see how he handles the synthetic

going here. CHEROKEE ARTIST (Cherokee Run) was no factor at long odds in the San

Fernando, and the added ground Saturday doesn't figure to do him any favors.

TREVOR'S CLEVER (Stephen Got Even) owns lower BRIS numbers and will need to

improve significantly off his recent efforts to be a factor. CAUSE (Giant's

Causeway) is probably facing too much of a class hike.