Mastery likely favorite in Saturday's San Felipe Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - Mastery, undefeated in three starts at 2 in 2016, will be favored against a growing field in his 3-year-old debut in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Mastery has not raced since recording an impressive win in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 10. Owned by Cheyenne Stables, Mastery won his debut here in October and his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 19.

As of Sunday, there were seven probable starters for the $400,000 San Felipe, which is run at 1 1/16 miles.

Trainer Doug O’Neill has three candidates: Ann Arbor Eddie, the winner of two stakes for California-breds in December and January; Iliad, who won the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs on Feb. 12; and Term of Art, the winner of the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar and who was fourth in the Grade 2 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 4.

Other expected runners are Gormley, who won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at a mile on Jan. 7; the maiden Bluegrass Envy; and possibly Vending Machine, who won the Eddie Logan Stakes on turf on Dec. 30.

Mastery worked six furlongs Sunday at Santa Anita in company with a stablemate in 1:12.60, the fastest of 12 recorded works at the distance.

“He’s been working right along,” Baffert said of Mastery’s condition.

In the workout, Mastery tracked his stablemate to early stretch before reaching the front at the sixteenth pole.