Santa Anita: Uh Oh Bango headed to Big Cap

Shigeki Kikkawa

Uh Oh Bango was hindered by a lack of pace in the San Antonio.

ARCADIA, Calif.– Uh Oh Bango, a three-time stakes winner and the runner-up to Game On Dude in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes on Feb. 5, will make his next start in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 3, trainer Kory Owens said on Friday.

For the Grade 1 Big Cap, run over 1 1/4 miles, Owens is hoping that the race scenario will favor Uh Oh Bango at the expense of Game On Dude. In the San Antonio over 1 1/8 miles, Game On Dude disputed the pace for the first half-mile, led by three lengths on the turn, and pulled away to win by 5 1/4 lengths.

In the Big Cap, Game On Dude could face early pressure from Ultimate Eagle, the front-running winner of the Grade 2 Strub Stakes over 1 1/8 miles for 4-year-olds on Feb. 4. “It might be a better deal if he and Ultimate Eagle could go out there,” Owens said of a potential speed duel. “It’d be a different kind of race if they both go.”

Owned by Triple AAA Ranch, Uh Oh Bango, 5, has won 5 of 18 starts and $572,712. An Arizona-bred gelding, Uh Oh Bango won the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes over 1 1/16 miles here on Jan. 7, his first stakes win since the Grade 3 Berkeley Stakes at Golden Gate Fields last May.

Game On Dude won the 2011 Big Cap. In this year’s running, Uh Oh Bango may also face Setsuko, second in the 2011 Big Cap; and possibly Jaycito and Prayer for Relief, who were second and third behind Ultimate Eagle in the Strub Stakes.

Tres Borrachos may ship for next start

Tres Borrachos, the winner of the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap last summer, is unlikely for the Big Cap, trainer Marty Jones said.

Tres Borrachos was entered for the San Antonio Stakes, but was withdrawn after he had a reaction to an apparent eye injury in the days before the race, Jones said on Friday. “He got something in his eye and it blew up,” Jones said. “I didn’t train him for a couple of days, but he’s good now.”

Jones said the Big Cap distance is unlikely to suit Tres Borrachos. “It might be a little far,” he said.

He said the two $125,000 races over 1 1/16 miles are being considered – the Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap at Fair Grounds are Feb. 25 or the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park on March 10.

Creative Cause, Secret Circle eyeing San Vicente

Creative Cause, third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last November, and Secret Circle, the winner of the BC Juvenile Sprint that same weekend, are two of the leading contenders for the $150,000 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds over seven furlongs on Feb. 19.

Creative Cause, who won the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes last October, has not raced since the BC Juvenile. Secret Circle was second to Out of Bounds in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes over a mile here on Jan. 7. The Sham was the first career loss for Secret Circle, who has made four starts.