Cassidy tries pulling a Frankel

ARCADIA, Calif. - He is a trainer with a never-ending onslaught of European imports. Multiple-horse entries are regular occurrences for him, and two more of his foreigners entered the $75,000-added Some Sensation Stakes on Friday at Santa Anita.

The subject, of course, is trainer Bobby Frankel - but on Friday he has company. The Frankel-trained Megahertz will start as the likely favorite against uncoupled stablemate Nunatall in the Some Sensation, a one-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies. But trainer Jim Cassidy takes a page from the Frankel playbook by starting two imports, the entry of Ayzal and Orlass.

Nine fillies entered the Some Sensation, including Grade 3 winner Bella Bella Bella, northern California shippers Halo Tyra and Redmond, impressive debut winner Simone's Show, and dirt-to-turf Frugality. For Cassidy, the race offers an opportunity to showcase two more imports.

Cassidy purchased 13 runners last fall in Europe. The total package cost approximately $500,000. His filly EC Lady scored an impressive claiming-race win on Sunday, and his well-regarded Saphir Indien was scheduled for his U.S. debut Thursday in race 7. Ayzal and Orlass carry Team Cassidy into Friday.

Ayzal started once in the U.S., running a promising third-place finish in a downhill sprint that was designed as a prep for two turns. Beaten two lengths in the La Habra, Ayzal stretches out Friday and should be ready for a top effort. She has won 2 of 5 starts, and will be ridden by Eddie Delahoussaye.

Orlass is making her U.S. debut. "I would expect her to be prominent," said Cassidy. She won 2 of 9 races in Europe, and will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux. Ayzal and Orlass are owned by a partnership that includes Jim Ford and KM Stable.

While both Cassidy's runners are "live," the Frankel duo had stronger form in Europe, and both established local credentials Jan. 9 in the Blue Norther. In that mile turf race, Megahertz overcame a slow start to win by 1 1/4 lengths. She walked out of the gate, was blocked midstretch, then surged late and won going away. Her win was validated when third-place finisher La Martina returned to win the California Oaks at Golden Gate.

Nunatall was favored in the race won by Megahertz, but her subsequent fifth-place finish in the La Habra suggests she is overmatched by her stablemate and Ayzal.

The wild card is Bella Bella Bella, who won three starts in a row before finishing last in the Grade 1 Las Virgenes. Recent workouts on grass suggest she will handle the surface switch.

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