Qahira gets distance test in allowance

ARCADIA, Calif. – Top horses can succeed even when they try something new. At least that is the hope Friday at Santa Anita, where impressive debut winner Qahira stretches to a mile in race 3.

Qahira could be a cinch, just like many considered her odds-on stablemate Coliseum would be in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes last weekend. He finished sixth. Some distance experiments backfire.

It happened also to Vantastic, the likely pacesetter Friday in race 7. Last time out, Vantastic went from a maiden sprint victory directly to Grade 3 route. He finished a tired third.

“The mile was worth a shot,” trainer Peter Eurton said, and he conferred afterward with jockey Mike Smith.

“Mike got off and said, ‘You’ve got to go back down the hill with him, he’ll be tough,’” Eurton recalled.

Easy enough. Vantastic is back down the hill Friday, favored to wire the field.

Races 3 and 7 Friday, entry-level allowances for 3-year-olds, offer more appeal than a mundane second-level allowance route for fillies and mares that is race 8. Mo See Cal figures as the low-odds choice at one mile.

Qahira will be heavily backed in race 3, the dirt mile for fillies, based on her debut romp Nov. 25 at Del Mar. She won the six-furlong race by nearly five lengths and earned an 87 Beyer. Will she run long? Trainer Bob Baffert acknowledged the challenge stretching out from just a single sprint.

“I would have liked to get another one-turn race into her, but she’s been working well,” Baffert said. “I think she’ll get the trip.”

The pattern for Qahira is similar to Baffert-trained Coliseum – first route, second start, heavy favorite. However, Baffert said further comparisons do not apply.

“They are totally different,” Baffert said. Qahira “is rateable, Coliseum is sort of immature mentally.”

Despite a significant advantage in speed figures, Qahira is no slam dunk against proven route specialists. The 2-for-3 Kookie Gal won the $100,000 Soviet Problem Stakes racing a mile at Los Alamitos. Calf Moon Bay scored a convincing maiden route win last out in her fourth start. Boujie Girl and Noble Contessa also were entered.

Race 7 Friday drew an eclectic field of 3-year-olds for the 6 1/2-furlong turf race on the hill. Vantastic faces blinkers-off Seven Scents and European imports Urban Light, Eagle Song, and Boa Nova.

Vantastic won a maiden race second time out on the downhill course, then jumped into the deep end in the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille at one mile. He set a fast pace while unrelaxed, and finished third. Enough with the route experiment.

“He should go long eventually, it’s just that his mindset is speed,” Eurton said. “In the mornings we try to get him to go off easily, but he’s still pretty keen. We brought him back at a distance he won’t have to grab him.”

The downhill course is an ideal remedy for horses that pull. Friday, new jockey Flavien Prat can allow Vantastic to utilize his speed. And if the race unfolds as expected, Vantastic could be gone.

If not, several others enter with an upset a chance, including Seven Scents. Craig Lewis trains the colt, who wore blinkers in all six of his starts, including a maiden win and two in-the-money stakes finishes. He finished third under Geovanni Franco going a mile on grass in an optional claimer at Del Mar last out. No blinkers Friday.

“He’s got ability, but doesn’t really focus like we’d like him to,” Lewis said. “So we’re taking the blinkers off, which sounds like it would be contra to that. But [Franco] said when he ran on grass he was looking at everything the whole way, and he had blinkers on.”

Seven Scents did not wear blinkers in recent works. Lewis is satisfied with the change, albeit with reservation.

“It might backfire,” he said. “It’s just trial and error. I’m still trying to sort out what he is.”

Eagle Song makes his U.S. debut for trainer Mark Glatt after winning 2 of 8, all in Ireland. Both wins were since moving to synthetic, but Glatt suggested reasons other than surface for his success.

“Supposedly, early in this career he was a little rank in his races, and he kind of learned to relax,” Glatt said. “I can’t imagine he wouldn’t like the grass. He’s going to be coming from off.”

Same with Irish import Urban Light, making his U.S. debut for trainer Phil D’Amato. “He’s going to do better with added ground,” D’Amato said. “It’s a good starting point – run him down the hill, then stretch him out. He’s going to be much more effective around two turns.”

The others in the field are Synthesis, Haydens Havoc, Damiano, and Neptune’s Storm.