Katana's status iffy due to rain

ARCADIA, Calif. - Rainy weather could affect Wednesday's featured seventh race at Santa Anita, a $45,000 allowance race on the hillside course for fillies and mares.

If wet weather forces the race to the main track, the American debut of the promising Katana will be postponed.

Trained by Bobby Frankel for Amerman Racing, was second against males in a Group 1 stakes over about seven furlongs on turf in New Zealand in April 2003. Considering that Amerman and Frankel campaigned the multiple stakes winner Happyanunoit from New Zealand a few years ago, Katana deserves extra consideration in Wednesday's race.

The conditions will determine whether Katana starts, Frankel said. "I won't run her on the dirt," he said. "I'm not worried about her fitness."

Two other races are booked for turf, a maiden race for 2-year-old fillies over a mile and a hillside sprint for 3-year-old fillies entered for claiming prices ranging from $70,000 to $80,000.

The seventh race drew 12 entrants, and needs to stay on turf to retain many of the leading contenders.

Bonaire, Dewey's Trick, and Excessed have good recent form.

finished third in a race at this level on Oct. 1, her first start on the hillside turf course. A group stakes winner in France last year, Bonaire finished fourth in the Grade 2 San Clemente Handicap and third in the Barona Cup Handicap during the Del Mar meeting.

In the Oct. 1 race, Bonaire trailed by 10 lengths after hopping in the air while crossing over the main track. She rallied well through the stretch to finish 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner, Pragmatico.

and Excessed finished third and fourth, respectively, in an optional claimer at five furlongs on turf at Del Mar on Sept. 3.

Dewey's Trick has won 2 of 5 starts, scoring wins on turf at Del Mar and Hollywood Park this year. Wednesday's race would mark her first turf start at Santa Anita. Trained by Doug Peterson, Dewey's Trick may not start if the race comes off the turf, considering she has never run on dirt.

has shown ability on turf and dirt. Trained by the red-hot Mike Mitchell, Excessed won an allowance race at six furlongs on dirt at Del Mar on Aug. 20. Two weeks later, she closed from fifth to miss by a neck in her turf debut.

The speedy Tizakitty deserves consideration if the race is moved to dirt. She has been in the first three in five of her six starts.