Deep San Felipe field tricky to handicap for many reasons
ARCADIA, Calif. – After a week of persistent storms, skies are clear and the track is open for many of the top 3-year-olds in California who return Saturday at Santa Anita.
But a wet-weather hangover lingers over the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and every other race at Santa Anita on Saturday. Rain and track closures have interrupted training and provide a built-in alibi for any of the San Felipe starters who fall short of expectations.
For more than a week, Feb. 24 through March 2, horses were not allowed to post timed workouts at Santa Anita. On multiple days during the wet-track shutdown, both the training track and main track were closed entirely or open for joggers only. Preparation has been less than perfect leading into the deepest 3-year-old stakes of the season in California.
National Treasure enters the San Felipe as the most accomplished, making his first start since moving from trainer Bob Baffert to Tim Yakteen. Third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and third last out with an uneasy trip in the strong Grade 3 Sham Stakes, National Treasure joins Hejazi, Fort Bragg, and Mr Fisk as Baffert-to-Yakteen transfers in the San Felipe.
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Yakteen also starts a high-class colt that he developed from scratch. Practical Move makes his first start at age 3 following a progressive 2-year-old campaign that culminated with an upset victory in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December. The question facing Practical Move, sired by young one-turn stallion Practical Joke: How far does he want to run?
“I think that’s a legitimate concern with all 3-year-olds,” Yakteen said. “You want to see they’re touting you that a mile and a quarter is within their wheelhouse. As we continue to race, we’ll be able to validate that. Right now, he’s telling us he can handle two turns and he can go further.”
Practical Move only needs to go 1 1/16 miles in the San Felipe, the same distance as his win in the Los Alamitos Futurity. Yakteen said Practical Move “has matured during his little breather. The next 60 days are going to start clearing the whole 3-year-old picture.”
Some things are coming into focus. Grade 1 winner Cave Rock reportedly is off the Derby trail; he and Faustin stay with Baffert, according to Horse Racing Nation. Baffert refused to confirm the report with Daily Racing Form on Thursday. Santa Anita officials were not aware of a barn switch. It appears Cave Rock and Faustin are not eligible for the Kentucky Derby.
While the San Felipe includes highly rated maiden winners Skinner and Geaux Rocket Ride, the field does not include a colt many consider the best in the West. Arabian Knight, now trained by Yakteen, is likely to target the Santa Anita Derby.
The San Felipe is race 6 on a Saturday card with 12 races. The San Felipe field also includes El Camino Real Derby winner Chase the Chaos and outsiders Bluegrass Go Go, Genius Jimmy, and Crypto Ride. The winner of the San Felipe earns 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and is virtually assured a berth.
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National Treasure enters the San Felipe off an odds-on third in the Sham, a race that was better than looked. National Treasure was never comfortable inside and behind horses; the one-two finishers subsequently flattered the race. The winner, Reincarnate, returned to run super finishing third in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes; Sham runner-up Newgate won the Grade 3 Robert Lewis next out before he was sidelined. National Treasure’s most recent workout was Feb. 19, like many others.
Hejazi, the $3.55 million juvenile who was Grade 1-placed last year, returned Jan. 15 following a three-month layoff to score a highly rated maiden sprint win. His 99 Beyer Speed Figure last out, and 100 last year, top the San Felipe field. Hejazi is a candidate to set the pace. His last work was Feb. 19.
Geaux Rocket Ride could provide pace pressure. Although he enters with just one start, a sprint romp by 5 3/4 lengths, trainer Richard Mandella said Geaux Rocket Ride “is very smart. Before we ran him, we schooled him a lot inside and out, back and forth, off the pace and on the pace. He’s had a lot of schooling.”
Mandella jokingly added “I prepared him for the Derby before he ever started.”
Skinner, Grade 1-placed last year, wheels back three weeks after a smashing maiden-route comeback score. He won by more than three lengths with a 95 Beyer. The short turnaround into the San Felipe signals optimism by trainer John Shirreffs.
“He came out of the race really well, and Victor [Espinoza] kind of eased up at the end,” Shirreffs said. “Racing is going to help him.”
So will added distance. Skinner is a better colt at age 3, and the off-the-pace style he employed in the one-mile maiden race suggests the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe and 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby on April 8 will be in his wheelhouse.
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