Avanti Bello, Sammy Mandeville well spotted to end drought

ARCADIA, Calif. – Avanti Bello is winless in four starts since May. Sammy Mandeville has gone 12 races without a victory since taking an optional claimer at Santa Anita in March 2015.

At first glance, their records are not encouraging, but both Avanti Bello and Sammy Mandeville seem well placed in a second-level optional $62,500 claimer at Santa Anita on Friday. The other five runners in the 1 1/16-mile race are winless in their last starts, too.

Doug O’Neill trains Avanti Bello and Sammy Mandeville. He is hopeful that Friday’s race will lead to starts in the $80,000 Big Bear Stakes at a mile Nov. 3. Avanti Bello will be ridden by Flavien Prat, while Rafael Bejarano has the mount on Sammy Mandeville.

“We’ve got the top two riders on them, so I love that,” O’Neill said this week. “One will be forwardly placed, and one is coming off the pace. They complement each other.”

Race 7

KEY CONTENDERS

Avanti Bello, by Include

Last 3 Beyers: 92-82-79

◗ Avanti Bello, who typically races near the front, won the Tiznow Sakes for California-breds at a mile in a 13-1 upset in late May. He was third in the E.B. Johnston Stakes for California-breds at Los Alamitos on Sept. 10.

◗ Avanti Bello’s only poor performance during the summer was an eighth-place finish in the California Dreamin’ Stakes on turf at Del Mar in July.

“He’s a class horse,” O’Neill said. “It shocked me that he didn’t carry his form to the turf. He loves the dirt. He tries hard.”

Sammy Mandeville, by Rock Hard Ten

Last 3 Beyers: 87-92-89

◗ Sammy Mandeville has not raced since finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs on Aug. 14. He closed from last in a field of 11 with a wide trip to finish 9 3/4 lengths behind Point Piper.

“With his style, he’s vulnerable to traffic trouble,” O’Neill said.

◗ Last year, Sammy Mandeville ran in graded stakes at Del Mar, Emerald Downs, Oaklawn Park, and Santa Anita, but this year the goals have been lower.

◗ Earlier this year in three starts at Santa Anita, Sammy Mandeville was seventh and fourth on two occasions in optional claimers. Bejarano was aboard for two of those races.

“Some of his best races have been with Rafael Bejarano, and having him back aboard is a plus,” O’Neill said.

Chief of Staff, by Majestic Warrior

Last 3 Beyers: 85-95-77

◗ Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Chief of Staff was the impressive winner of an optional claimer at a mile at Del Mar on July 15, his only start during that meeting. Chief of Staff returned to finish fourth in an optional claimer at Los Alamitos on Sept. 9. A repeat of the July 15 race would make the 4-year-old colt difficult to beat Friday.