Up-and-comers square off in San Pasqual

ARCADIA, Calif. – The big guns in the handicap division are skipping the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, but they will not be missed.

Without notables McKinzie, Mucho Gusto, Gift Box, or Higher Power, the 1 1/8-mile San Pasqual must stand on its own. No problem.

An evenly matched field of 10 entered the San Pasqual, an appealing race for bettors and one that will determine who takes on Gift Box in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7.

The top San Pasqual runners are Midcourt, compromised by a slow start last out; King Abner, a veteran gelding in career-best form; and Roadster, last year’s Santa Anita Derby winner. Midcourt is 3-1 and Roadster is 7-2 on the track morning line, set by Jon White.

Also in the San Pasqual are Combatant, purchased at a November auction for $220,000; Restrainedvengence, fresh from a daylight stakes win at Zia Park; 2018 juvenile flash Instagrand; and Route Six Six, California Street, Two Thirty Five, and Bold Endeavor.

The horse to beat is Midcourt, a Grade 3 winner who ranks as one the top achievements by trainer John Shirreffs. Midcourt was transferred to Shirreffs in 2018, at which time he was a two-start maiden whose racing career was uncertain.

“He didn’t want to go,” Shirreffs said. “He didn’t want to do anything. He was afraid of everything.”

Shirreffs brought Midcourt along slowly, gelded him, and in 2019 Midcourt gained confidence and went up the ladder. His four straight wins last year include the Grade 3 Native Diver at Del Mar.

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Midcourt’s streak ended last out when he broke slowly and was caught wide throughout finishing third in the Grade 2 San Antonio. Though he lost by more than seven lengths, he actually ran super. Shirreffs has schooled Midcourt at the gate since that race.

King Abner finished second in the San Antonio, and enters the San Pasqual at the top of his game. “Mentally, he’s in a zone,” trainer Phil D’Amato said. “He’s a different horse now. He’s a horse that knows he’s a good horse and acts like that when he gallops.”

Roadster finished second last out in the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes. “He ran well. He got pretty far back,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He was running at the end, but it was too much. He’s a distance horse.”

Roadster is winless in five starts since the 2019 Santa Anita Derby, including three as the favorite, but his form is decent. Prior to the Malibu, he broke slowly and finished fourth behind Midcourt in the Native Diver.

Combatant will try to emulate previous John Sadler-trained acquisitions such as Gift Box and Higher Power. They were allowance-caliber horses that won Grade 1’s for Sadler.

“This horse trains good,” Sadler said. “And my theory is there’s always room in this division. I’ve got two or three different ways to go with him. Let’s see where he’s at.”