Optional claimer good alternative to stakes for It Tiz Well

ARCADIA, Calif. – The option of a start in a Sunday stakes race and the potential for wet weather may affect two optional claimers at Santa Anita on Friday.

It Tiz Well, second in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Jan. 8, is entered in a first-level optional $75,000 claimer at seven furlongs and is nominated for Sunday’s $200,000 Las Virgenes Stakes at a mile.

Friday’s seventh race is a first-level optional $62,500 claimer at a mile on turf that could be jeopardized if the forecast for rain is accurate. The entries include Cheekaboo, who won the Grade 2 Honeymoon Stakes here last June.

It Tiz Well was beaten 7 1/2 lengths by stablemate Unique Bella in the Santa Ynez. Unique Bella is scheduled to start in the Las Virgenes.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said It Tiz Well fits in Friday’s race and in the Las Virgenes, with the optional claimer allowing him to keep the two fillies apart.

“We wanted to enter and see what it looks like,” he said. “She looks like a solid fit.”

It Tiz Well, by Arch, races for Tommy Town Thoroughbreds. She won her second start by 10 lengths in a six-furlong maiden race at Los Alamitos on Dec. 18.

“She might be a little bit behind, experience-wise, compared to some of the horses,” Hollendorfer said. “I think she’s coming up fast.”

Flavien Prat has been booked to ride It Tiz Well, replacing Drayden Van Dyke, who broke his arm in a spill Jan. 25.

It Tiz Well is part of a field of seven that includes three recent maiden-race winners – Diamondinthecenter, Pontificator, and Ruby Trust. Ruby Trust, trained by Howard Zucker, won a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs on Dec. 26, her first start since July.

◗ Cheekaboo and Sheeza Milky Way were sixth and 10th behind Decked Out in the Grade 1 American Oaks on turf here Dec. 31 for trainer Peter Eurton. Eurton said on Wednesday that he is closely watching the Friday weather situation.

If the race is moved to the main track, his fillies may not start.

“We’d probably scratch them both,” he said.

Cheekaboo closed well to finish 2 1/4 lengths behind Decked Out. Sheeza Milky Way was beaten only 3 1/4 lengths in the American Oaks, her first start since a third in the Grade 3 Senorita Stakes last May.

If the race stays on turf, Sweet Charity is a leading threat. A stakes winner in France last September, Sweet Charity was a troubled second in her American debut on Jan. 1. If the race is moved to the main track, Perfect Pic will have a prominent role. She won an optional claimer on a muddy track Jan. 13.