While this lonely Friday may be a bit empty in terms of major racing action, there are nevertheless a pair of intriguing races being held this afternoon at Santa Anita.
The biggest -- but not necessarily the one with the best chance to influence the Triple Crown -- is the Pasadena Stakes, a one-mile turf race for three-year-olds. The race has a little of everything: a Bob Baffert-trained runner, a quintet of European imports, and several proven stakes winner. You could select any horse and have a good chance at having picked the winner.
Of the ten runners in the race, the horse I like best is Midnight Crooner. A full-brother to the 2011 Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) winner Midnight Interlude, Midnight Crooner made three starts to date, losing his first two before breaking through with a highly impressive 7 1/2-length victory going a mile over the Tapeta track at Golden Gate Fields. There was a lot to like about the performance, including the fact that he closed his final two eighths in :12.08 and :12.29. In addition, the runner-up that day, The Roan Ranger, returned to break his own maiden on March 10th.
Obviously, there are some questions as to how well Midnight Crooner will take to the turf today, as this will be his first start over the surface, but his victory over the Tapeta is encouraging, and his full brother handled it just fine last summer, so I'm not really worried about it.
Three runners from last month's Baffle Stakes here at Santa Anita have returned to face off again, those horses being Tones (1st), Stoney Fleece (2nd), and Loukas (7th). Tones and Stoney Fleece were separated by only a neck that day, but that was at 6-1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course. One-mile on the regular turf course is a completely different ballgame. Seeing that Stoney Fleece won the Generous Stakes (gr. III) going a mile on turf last fall, he should relish the return to that distance later today, although it's certainly possible that Tones and Loukas will also enjoy the stretch-out.
On the other hand, it's possible that neither of those three will prove good enough to handle Chips All In, who has won four of his six starts to date. He didn't look good at all last time out when beaten thirty-eight lengths in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. II), but that was over the Santa Anita main track, and it's very possible that he just totally didn't care for the dirt. After all, he had previously won Santa Anita's Eddie Logan Stakes going a mile on the turf, while defeating such talented runners as the above-mentioned Stoney Fleece, El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) winner Daddy Nose Best, and The Black. If anyone can upset Midnight Crooner, it is this colt.
Moving onward, the fourth race on the card is a one-mile main track maiden special weight, which I feel could turn out a Triple Crown contender. Yes, it's definitely a bit late for promising three-year-olds to be breaking their maidens, but the colt that I have my eye on may simply be talented enough to join the Derby trail even at this very late date. Named Holy Candy, he has made three starts to date and finished second in all of them -- but the horses that beat him have been Castaway, winner of the Southwest Stakes (gr. III), Empire Way, runner-up in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. II), and Stirred Up, a highly promising colt from the barn of Bob Baffert that will be running in the Sunland Derby (gr. III) on Sunday. Should Holy Candy break his maiden later this afternoon -- and he will likely be odds-on to do it -- he could potentially be entered in one of the major Kentucky Derby prep races such as the Illinois Derby (gr. III).
-Keelerman
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