Cool Samurai preps for Santa Anita Handicap
ARCADIA, Calif. – Cool Samurai can earn a start in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on March 7 with a win in a second-level optional $62,500 claimer at Santa Anita on Friday.
The winner of an allowance race at seven furlongs at Aqueduct on Nov. 6, Cool Samurai was not intended to have such a lengthy break between races. Trainer John Shirreffs had Cool Samurai entered for the Grade 2 Mathis Bros. Mile, but the gelding was withdrawn after becoming upset in the gate.
Friday’s race is run at a mile and will be a test for Cool Samurai, who faces a solid field.
Race 6
KEY CONTENDERS
Cool Samurai (Last 3 Beyers: 93-79-78)
◗ Owned by breeders Jerry and Ann Moss, Cool Samurai won the seven-furlong allowance race at Aqueduct by a nose. He won a maiden race at a mile here in December 2013 and was later sixth behind Candy Boy in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes last February.
◗ Shirreffs said he has seen growth in Cool Samurai in recent months and was left impressed by the way Cool Samurai traveled in a five-furlong workout Jan. 29.
“I think he’s put on a little weight,” Shirreffs said. “He looks a little stronger. The other day when he worked, I never saw him hit the ground. I thought it was a good way to come out of the work.”
Storm Fighter (Last 3 Beyers: 36-97-104)
◗ Storm Fighter won the Tiznow Stakes for California-breds here last April and was later fifth in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes in June and eighth of nine as the 3-2 favorite in the Bertrando Stakes for California-breds at Los Alamitos in July.
◗ Storm Fighter is trained by Bruce Headley. His daughter and assistant trainer, Karen Headley, said on Wednesday that Storm Fighter will not be 100 percent on Friday but should be part of the pace.
“I’m a few works short,” Headley said. ”Hopefully, it’s a warm-up race. I want him to just go.”
Snuggley Bear (Last 3 Beyers: 99-81-82)
◗ Snuggley Bear needed 15 races to beat maidens, finally doing so at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar in November. After finishing eighth in an optional claimer for sprinters here Jan. 3, Snuggley Bear ran a career-best race to win an optional claimer at a mile Jan. 19 as a 23-1 outsider.
◗ Snuggley Bear, who will be ridden by Kent Desormeaux, is likely to race near the front.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Batti Man. Trainer Kristin Mulhall is 11-4-2-1 with a $3.54 ROI over the past two years going sprint to route on dirt. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 9 Midnight Hawk. Trainer Bob Baffert is 66-21-11-8 with a $2.76 ROI over the past two years going sprint to route at Santa Anita. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan