Getback Time appears best despite post

ARCADIA, Calif. - As far as trainer Rafael Becerra is concerned, the jury is in. Getback Time "has been real good to us," Becerra said.

Has she ever. Claimed from a maiden win for $40,000 in her second start last April, Getback Time has since earned $229,360 by winning three races and placing in six others. On Friday at Santa Anita, the consistent 4-year-old filly is the horse to beat in the feature race.

Seven fillies and mares entered the seven-furlong race, a second-level optional claimer in which Getback Time must break from the inside post.

"You can put her wherever you want, she'll be okay," Becerra said. "The 1 hole doesn't bother me."

Getback Time drops in class from a third-place finish in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff. The only two that finished in front of her in the 1 1/16-mile race were graded stakes winners Joint Effort and Take D' Tour.

"I thought she ran a good race," Becerra said. "I was going to point her to another stake, but we'll try to break that condition, win as much as we can."

Corey Nakatani rides Getback Time, whose main rival may be the 8-for-37 veteran Argentinisima, an 8-year-old who has won 3 of her last 4 starts, including a sloppy-track win last time out at Golden Gate.

The forecast of rain in the area late Thursday and into Friday muddles the handicapping for Friday's card. Argentinisima is proven on wet going and has a tactical advantage by being drawn outside her main rival.

The logical alternatives to the favorites are Fletchers Cove and Valid's Valid. Bob Baffert trains Fletchers Cove, third by a length last time out at the same condition. She has won 3 of 16 starts. Valid's Valid won a low-rated first-level allowance last time out in a field of four.

The field also includes Wee Bit Fancy, Bachelorette One, and Sweet Belle.

Because of the forecasted rain, the one grass race on Friday was placed outside the pick six sequence. A field of 13 entered the race, a first-level allowance that goes as race 2. The complexion of the race may shift if it's moved to dirt. Out of Control and Stylin Cat are among the contenders. Stylin Cat finished second by a nose in his last two starts. Out of Control finished second in his U.S. debut after wining 1 of 3 starts in Brazil.