Wicked Strong should find Excelsior distance suitable

The first four across the wire in the $98,000 Stymie on March 22 -- Turco

Bravo (Caesarion), Cousin Stephen (Proud Citizen), North Slope (Elusive Quality)

and Micromanage (Medaglia d'Oro) -- renew acquaintance in the Excelsior. Also

lining up are Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) winner Red Rifle (Giant's Causeway), fifth

in the New Orleans H. (G2) last time; Stormin Monarcho (Monarchos), recent

winner of the $98,000 Mr. Sinatra; and Empire Classic hero Effinex (Mineshaft),

a recent allowance scorer.

In other graded stakes action on Saturday:

Santa Anita

Quick Casablanca (Until Sundown) goes for a repeat win in the $100,000

Last

Tycoon (G3) at Santa Anita. The Chilean-bred upset the race by a head at

16-1 last season when it was contested at nine furlongs, but the deep closer

will get extra ground to work with this time as the race has been elongated to 1

1/4 miles.

Following the Last Tycoon, Quick Casablanca placed as the favorite in the

Charles Whittingham Memorial (G2) and San Juan Capistrano (G3), but missed the

second half of the season. He returned on April 4 to finish eighth in the

$82,000 Thunder Road, a one-mile heat undoubtedly too short for him.

Returning from a layoff is Del Mar H. (G2) winner Big John B (Hard Spun), who

subsequently finished third in the John Henry Turf Championship (G2) and ninth

in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) following his Del Mar score in August.

Abbey Vale (Moss Vale) goes for his first stakes win after win two of three

allowance attempts since his importation from Ireland. Also looking for his

first stakes win stateside is Ganesh (Sulamani), a multiple Group 1 winner in

Brazil who also found the Thunder Road too short in his U.S. debut.

Others of note are recent San Luis Rey (G2) third Power Foot (Powerscourt);

the front-running Joes Blazing Aaron (Graeme Hall); and Si Sage (Sageburg), who

is multiple graded-placed on this course.

Gulfstream Park

Grand Tito (Candy Ride) will hope to come out on top for the first time in a

graded stakes at Gulfstream Park this season in the $100,000

Miami Mile

(G3). The five-year-old has earned a piece of the purse in four other graded

turf stakes this season, finishing second in the Ft. Lauderdale (G2) and

Canadian Turf (G3), third in the Appleton (G3), and a close fifth in the

Gulfstream Park Turf H. (G1).

His most serious challengers appear to be last-out allowance winners

Middleburg (Lemon Drop Kid), Shatak (Cryptoclearance), and Inchcape (Indian

Charlie), as well as multiple stakes winner Storming Inti (Stormy Atlantic), who

finished fourth in his March 6 comeback following a layoff of more than six

months.

Also at Gulfstream on Saturday, Grade 1 queen Discreet Marq (Discreet Cat)

will be an overwhelming favorite to take the $75,000

Powder

Break over a mile on turf, which marks her first start since her third-place

effort in the Matriarch (G1) at Del Mar in November.

Multiple stakes winner Mr. Jordan (Kantharos), coming off his first career

defeat in the $58,000 Tamarac on March 27, will also be heavily favored to get

back in the win column in the $60,000

Tarpon, a

one-mile test for three-year-olds.

Golden Gate Fields

Runner-up in its past two editions, Summer Hit (Bertrando) will attempt for a

third to capture the $100,000

San Francisco

Mile (G3) over the turf at Golden Gate Fields. The multiple Grade 3 scorer,

trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and ridden by Russell Baze, was recently second in

a six-furlong allowance in his first start since last June.

Pepper Crown (Peppered Cat) is back to defend his San Francisco Mile crown

after denying Summer Hit by three-quarters of a length at odds of 46-1 a year

ago. The five-year-old has been much more active than Summer Hit since last

year's race, winning or placing in nine of 12 starts. Most recently, he took an

off-the-turf allowance by a neck on April 5.

Are You Kidding Me (Run Away and Hide) debuts for trainer Neil Drysdale after

capturing the Kent (G3) at Delaware Park for Roger Attfield. Other notables in

the lineup are stakes winners G. G. Ryder (Chhaya Dance) and Edge of Reality

(Lawyer Ron).

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com