Weekend Stakes Races – Breeders Cup Prep Day from Santa Anita

Weekend Stakes Races: Oak Tree at Santa Anita: Grade II Oak Tree Mile Stakes, Grade I Goodwood Stakes, Grade I Lady’s Secret Stakes

Race-day: 10/10/2009

Race-time: Yellow Ribbon Stakes at 5:00 pm EST, Oak Tree Mile at 6:00 pm EST, Goodwood at 6:30 pm EST, Lady’s Secret at 7:00 pm EST

Santa Anita’s Breeders’ Cup prep race day is finally here and horseplayers couldn’t be more excited.

Santa Anita is where the 2009 Breeders’ Cup will be held. That means that horses that do well in the prep races on Saturday could have a leg up over the competition. Running well over the Pro-Ride surface is the best way to ensure a good way of scoring on Breeders’ Cup Day.

Let’s take a look at the four graded races on the card.

Santa Anita – Race 4

Grade I Yellow Ribbon Stakes

$300,000

For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward

1 ¼ mile on turf

Black Mamba can be either up or down. I’ll be wagering that she’s up this Saturday in the Yellow Ribbon. She has never won over Santa Anita’s turf course, but she has 4 second place and 3 third place finishes out of 8 starts. She’s also 2-2-2 out of 9 races at the distance. I’m rolling the dice by wagering on her, but like I wrote, when she’s good, she’s really good.

Magical Fantasy will go off as the chalk. She should. She’s riding a three race winning streak, is one for one at Santa Anita and has trained brilliantly over the Santa Anita turf track. Trainer Bob Baffert is winning at a 45% clip at the Oak Tree Meet. Because of that, his charge

Internallyflawless figures to be really tough in this. Could Baffert pull of the upset with the daughter of Giant’s Causeway. Horseplayers had better believe he could.

1. Black Mamba
2. Magical Fantasy
3. Internallyflawless

Santa Anita – Race 6

Grade II Oak Tree Mile Stakes

$150,000

For Three Year Olds and Upward

1 mile on turf

Don’t ever turn a blind eye to Richard Mandella when he puts a horse on the turf. On Saturday, he saddles Times Gone By in the Oak Tree Mile Stakes and there’s no doubt that Papa Mandella is going to have his charge ready to win this Grade II.

Times Gone By has finished first or second in his last four races and gets to break from the one hole. The 1.9 million purchase is about ready to start repaying his owners for their confidence in him. Cowboy Cal is a tough son of a gun. That’s the only way to describe the son of Giant’s Causeway who is 2 for 2 at the distance and 4-4-1 out of 10 races on the turf.

Cowboy Cal will up front, near the lead, and does face some pressure, but he’s got enough heart to hang on for the victory. Is there something wrong with Whatsthescript? Maybe, or maybe he just needs to get back to the distance he’s comfortable with. Whatsthescript is 4 out of 7 at the mile distance and could prove a nice upsetter now that most of his backers no doubt have jumped ship.

1. Times Gone By
2. Cowboy Cal
3. Whatsthescript

Santa Anita – Race 7

Grade I Goodwood Stakes

$350,000

For Three Year Olds and Upward

1 1/8 miles on Pro-Ride

Mine That Bird will go off as the chalk in the Goodwood but I’m not sold on his ability on the Pro-Ride surface. I believe that Parading, who has disappointed mightily in his last two races, should relish the turn back in distance from 1 ¼ miles to 1 1/8 miles. In the Pacific Classic, Parading made a nice move around the turn only to flatten out.

If he makes that same move on Saturday in the Goodwood, he should win. Tiago has been awful lately, but this is the time of the year when the Pleasant Tap sired, John Shirreff’s trained horse makes good. He finished second last year in this race before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The same thing could happen this year. Informed will need to get into the race earlier than he did in the Pacific Classic, he ended up steadying at the 3/8ths pole and going five wide in the lane before losing by 6th lengths and finishing 9th, but has the right to bounce back in a big way. He won the Grade II San Diego Handicap two races ago and could be a long shot that makes good in this race.

1. Parading
2. Tiago
3. Informed

Santa Anita – Race 8

Grade I Lady’s Secret Stakes

$300,000

For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward

1 1/16th miles on Pro-Ride

Annaba’s Creation lost by only a head to Zenyatta last time and I’d put her on top, but there is another rival to Zenyatta who figures to really improve switching from turf to Pro-Ride. In the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic, Cocoa Beach finished second to Zenyatta by 1 ½ lengths. She’s been training steadily coming up to this race, gets the rail and Richard Migliore and could easily beat the undefeated Zenyatta. Cocoa Beach is a classy, Godolphin trained mare that I’ll peg for first in this. Zenyatta should finish second, but I believe that the Julio Canani trained Annaba’s Creation has more upside and could actually hold off the on rushing Zenyatta should the two hook up in the lane again. I’ll put her second and look for a seriously nice paying exacta with Cocoa Beach. Zenyatta isn’t close to being as good in 2009 as she was in 2008. She came into this race last year with a triple digit speed rating in her last race. Two races ago she only beat Briecat by 2 ½ lengths. In her last race, she barely got past Annaba’s Creation. I believe her winning streak ends on Saturday but she’s still too good to leave out of the show slot.

1. Coca Beach
2. Annaba’s Creation
3. Zenyatta