Little Scotty could show the way in Thursday feature

ARCADIA, Calif. – Little Scotty should be rumbling along on the lead when the 5-year-old has his first start at 1 1/4 miles in Thursday’s seventh race at Santa Anita, a first level allowance with a $40,000 claiming option.

Little Scotty has been effective as a pacesetter, having won his last start in that style in a $25,000 claimer at 1 1/8 miles on March 24. How he does at a new distance is unclear but a risk worth taking, according to trainer Vladimir Cerin.

To make the assignment easier, at least from a weight point of view, Little Scotty will be ridden by apprentice jockey Asa Espinoza, who claims a seven-pound allowance and will carry 117 pounds. Espinoza rode Little Scotty for the first time in the March 24 victory.

“Who’s going to go with him?” Cerin said. “You have the energy of the bug boy. The enthusiasm from the young jockey goes to the horse.”

None of the nine runners in the optional claimer has won at 1 1/4 miles and only two have raced at the distance, or a similar distance, on dirt.

Point Piper, who won the Grade 3 Longacres Mile at Emerald Downs in August 2016, was fifth in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap at 1 1/4 miles in March 2016.

Kawara had four starts at distances close to 1 1/4 miles in Brazil in 2017 – two races at 1 3/16 miles and two races at 1 5/16 miles. Kawara won a minor stakes at 1 5/16 miles last May in Brazil.

In California, Kawara has started twice, both times for trainer Richard Mandella, finishing third and fifth in optional claimers at a mile earlier this year.

KEY CONTENDERS

Little Scotty, by Paddy O’Prado
Last 3 Beyers: 89-85-84

◗ Little Scotty raced on the main track for the first time March 24 in a race moved off turf because of wet conditions.

◗ Owned by Martin Mueller, Harry Pellman, Michael Scott, and Lauri Seymour, Little Scotty drew the outside post in the optional claimer, which is not a concern for Cerin considering the lengthy run to the first turn.

“He’s got three furlongs to move over,” Cerin said.

Point Piper, by Giant’s Causeway
Last 3 Beyers: 88-70-79

◗ Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Point Piper is winless in 11 starts since winning the Longacres Mile, including two second-place finishes in stakes at the end of 2016. Point Piper raced wide and was fifth in an optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on March 24.

Kid Charming, by Lemon Drop Kid
Last 3 Beyers: 86-75-82

◗ Kid Charming was sixth and eighth in optional claimers at 1 1/4 miles and 1 3/8 miles on turf in recent starts. Trained by Jim Cassidy, Kid Charming closed fast from last place in a field of 11 to finish second in an optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on April 1.