Encoder may have dirt in his future

ARCADIA, Calif. – Encoder, a two-time stakes winner who has raced only on turf, could switch to a stakes on the main track as an experiment later this winter.

Trainer John Sadler said Wednesday that the timing of the turf stakes for 3-year-olds early in the year at Santa Anita makes a start on dirt a possibility.

“We might try him on it,” Sadler said. “This would be the time to try it.”

Encoder won the Eddie Logan Stakes for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf Dec. 29, ending a three-race losing streak dating to the Del Mar Juvenile Turf on Sept. 1.

The next stakes for 3-year-olds on turf around two turns at Santa Anita is the $200,000 Pasadena Stakes at a mile on Feb. 29. An option in the interim is the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles on dirt Feb. 1, a key prep for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 4.

Owned by Pete and Kosta Hronis, Encoder, by English Channel, has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $162,271.

Tizmagician stakes-bound

A start in a stakes for 3-year-olds is expected in coming months for Tizamagician, who won a maiden special weight race at a mile in his sixth career start Wednesday at Santa Anita. The win ended a streak of three second-place finishes in similar races at a mile in October and November.

Tizamagician won Wednesday’s race by 2 1/2 lengths as the 2-1 favorite, finishing in 1:37.91. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 85.

“He looked like he’s turned the corner on me,” trainer Richard Mandella said. “I think it’s just maturity.”

By Tiznow, Tizamagician is owned by Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse.com. Mandella said Thursday that he has no immediate plans for Tizamagician’s next start.

“It’s too early to think about it,” he said.