Effinex assigned 123 pounds for Santa Anita Handicap

ARCADIA, Calif. - Effinex, second to American Pharoah in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland last October, will carry top weight of 123 pounds for his 2016 debut in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday.

Owned by Tri-Bone Stables, Effinex has not raced since winning the fourth stakes of his career in the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs last November.

The Big Cap, run at 1 1/4 miles, will be Effinex’s California debut, and fifth consecutive appearance in a Grade 1. He was fourth in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga last September and third in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park last October.

Trained by James Jerkens, Effinex has won 7 of 20 starts and earned $2,112,950.

The 123-pound assignment is lower than recent runnings of the Big Cap. Last year, Shared Belief carried top weight of 125 pounds, and won the Big Cap by 4 1/4 lengths. In 2014, Mucho Macho Man was the top weight at 124 pounds and finished fourth behind Game On Dude, who carried 122 pounds.

Effinex will be ridden by Mike Smith and is part of an expected field of seven. The other runners, with weights, are Imperative (120 pounds), Hard Aces (118), Donworth (117), General a Rod (116), Cyrus Alexander (115), and Melatonin (114).