Santa Anita handicapping roundup: Week of Feb. 15

Riding the bias

The Santa Anita main track has been surprisingly bias-free this winter, a credit to track superintendent Dennis Moore. He was hired prior to the Dec. 26 start of the meet. While scattered grumbling from horsemen about the surface is expected (foot problems the latest concern), handicappers have become accustomed to a surface that is fair to all styles.

But there are exceptions, such as Friday, Feb. 7. Following a brief storm the previous day, the Feb. 7 card was contested over a drying-out surface that produced the season’s most blatant speed bias.

All five dirt races were won by speed, including a freaky bias-aided performance by Fury Kapcori. Running one mile in a three-other-than allowance, Fury Kapcori and Batti Man sped 11 lengths clear of the rest of the field with an opening half-mile in a ridiculous 44.22 seconds. Batti Man cracked at the quarter pole after six furlongs in 1:08.48, but Fury Kapcori kept running.

The final half-mile was run in 50.28, yet Fury Kapcori won by more than two lengths in 1:34.50 and earned a 103 Beyer Speed Figure. Yes, he was propelled by the speed bias. It also was the second consecutive triple-digit Beyer by Fury Kapcori, a Jerry Hollendorfer trainee being considered for an ambitious class hike.

The Santa Anita Handicap on March 8 is on the radar for Fury Kapcori. Win or lose, he will keep the pace honest.

Good luck, Dude

Even before misfiring in the San Antonio Stakes, Game On Dude was no higher than the third choice for the 2014 Santa Anita Handicap. The two favorites were Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Charge. Those roles solidified when Game On Dude fizzled.

Bob Baffert will use the defeat to lobby for a weight break for two-time Big Cap winner Game On Dude. Highweights are preferred in the Big Cap.

“The way he ran, I’ll be lucky if I get in,” Baffert joked.

A duel with Blueskiesnrainbows contributed to Game On Dude’s defeat, but the pace will be no softer in the Big Cap. Blueskiesnrainbows is more likely for the Grade 3 Tokyo City at 1 1/2 miles on March 29. Meanwhile, the front end will be crowded in the Big Cap – Fury Kapcori, Appealing Tale, and Game On Dude are speed types.

All about attitude

An argument could be made that Grade 1 winner Egg Drop is slightly overrated, but one also must admire her tenacity.

A likely favorite Monday in the Grade 2 Buena Vista Stakes, Egg Drop ended 2013 with three graded stakes wins, including the Grade 1 Matriarch at Hollywood Park. It was not the strongest Matriarch field, but don’t tell that to Egg Drop. She might come after you.

“She’s a nasty little thing in the stall,” trainer Mike Mitchell said. “She’ll bite your head off. But on the track, she’s all business. There is nothing stupid about her. I kind of like that in a filly ... that pin-your-ears attitude.”

Egg Drop, a white-colored gray/roan by Alphabet Soup, has such a feisty reputation that stable hands refer to her as “the white bitch.” Her attitude is more tolerable because she delivers. Owned by Little Red Feather Racing, Egg Drop has won 6 races and $494,020 from 12 starts. On turf, she is 4 for 5, with an effortless stride.

“It doesn’t look like she is hitting the ground,” Mitchell said. “It looks like she is just floating. She doesn’t pound the ground. She’s smooth, like a Cadillac.”

Egg Drop has remained in steady training since upsetting the Matriarch on Dec. 1. Maybe she is not the greatest filly ever, but she loves to fight. Her last three wins, all graded stakes, were in photo finishes.

◗ Nashoba’s Gold, by Smart Strike filly and a sibling to multiple Grade 1 winner Nashoba’s Key, might be a good one. Nashoba’s Gold won her debut at nine furlongs on turf Feb. 8, drawing away late and galloping out with run for trainer Carla Gaines. Watch out next time. Since the summer of 2010, Gaines is 9 for 10 with second-time starters who won first out.