Santa Anita feature's makeup depends on weather

ARCADIA, Calif. – The participation of Frigid Bridget in Wednesday’s seventh race at Santa Anita is contingent on the weather.

As rain fell on Sunday morning, and was expected to continue until late Monday, trainer Dan Hendricks was hopeful that the one-mile allowance race for California-bred fillies and mares would eventually be transferred from the turf to the main track.

Wednesday’s program is the start of a five-day racing week. Santa Anita plans five-day racing weeks through the end of the meeting on April 17.

If Wednesday’s seventh race remains on turf, Hendricks said a decision will be made with the partnership that owns the filly whether to start. Frigid Bridget is the lone 3-year-old in a field of seven.

“I don’t think her style really fits the turf,” he said. “She doesn’t have a good spurt [of speed]. We’re doing a little rain dance. The weather says it could rain.”

Frigid Bridget has 1 victory in 4 starts, a maiden race over a mile on the main track here on Jan. 21. She returned to finish a game second against 3-year-old statebred fillies in an optional claimer over a mile on Feb. 18. In that race, Frigid Bridget was second early, took the lead on the turn and lost by a neck. Hendricks was not discouraged by the loss, considering that Frigid Bridget was pressured in the last half of the race.

“There was a premature move on the backstretch and it caused her to move a sixteenth or an eighth of a mile sooner than she should have,” Hendricks said. “If she could have cruised a little longer, it would have helped her a lot.”

If Wednesday’s race stays on turf, Frigid Bridget must beat She’sfitforaking, a 4-year-old filly with 2 wins in 15 career starts. She’sfitforaking, who ran in several claiming races last year in Illinois and Kentucky, is winless in three starts on turf at this meeting, including a half-length loss in an optional claimer at 24-1 on Dec. 27 and a third against a similar field on Feb. 10.

“The last time I think she was a tad bit too close to the pace,” trainer Bob Hess, Jr. said.

Hess said he would start She’sfitforaking on the main track, if necessary.

“She’s trained awesome on the dirt,” he said. “I would have zero problems with it. We would obviously prefer the turf.”