Santa Anita handicapping roundup: Week of March 22

A tale of trips

There is little difference in ability between the fillies Iotapa and Let Faith Arise, the current placeholders for Beholder atop California’s filly and mare division.

The first time Iotapa and Let Faith Arise met, Iotapa was asked for speed, set the pace inside, and led wire to wire over Let Faith Arise in the Grade 2 Santa Maria. A similar outcome was expected March 15 for the rematch in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita. Same weights, same pace scenario, a half-furlong farther. But the result flip-flopped.

The difference was the trip. Breaking from an outside post (No. 6) in the Santa Margarita, Iotapa was allowed to settle leisurely into stride. The passive move turned out to be the wrong move. Instead of another front-running rail trip, Iotapa pressed three-wide. Meanwhile, Let Faith Arise was given an enterprising ride by Corey Nakatani from post 4. She pressed two-wide, was always positioned in front of Iotapa, and inched clear late.

“I think we got out-tripped,” Iotapa’s trainer, John Sadler, said. “The trip we got the time before, the other filly got this time. The difference is that you’re wide.”

The evenly matched Iotapa and Let Faith Arise will meet again. The outcome might depend on strategy. The winner could be the filly who saves ground after being asked for speed.

The California filly and mare division will be replenished soon. Beholder is nearing a return, and Grade 2 winner Scherzinger remains in training after an ankle flare-up initially threatened to sideline her. Meanwhile, a new shooter in the division has found her home, on dirt.

Magic Union shipped last weekend to Oaklawn Park to start as the longest shot in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes, won by Close Hatches. Magic Union is trained by Sadler, who was quietly confident she could outrun her 32-1 odds while switching to dirt. Magic Union did just that as the runner-up by 1 1/4 lengths.

“It was her first race on dirt since I have trained her,” Sadler said. “That was one of the reasons for improvement. She got kind of ‘synthetic sour.’ She won big at Del Mar but wasn’t quite the same after.”

Two dull efforts on synthetic and another dull try on turf disguised her form. Was the runner-up finish at Oaklawn a wet-track fluke? Perhaps it was not. And along with Iotapa, Sadler now has two guns for the female handicap division. Stay tuned.

Enterprising stands out

Enterprising appears to stand out Saturday in the $75,000 Pasadena Stakes. The one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds represents a return to grass for Enterprising, the winner of the Eddie Logan Stakes at Santa Anita in December and 2 for 2 on turf.

The Pasadena also is a drop for Enterprising, third to Tamarando last out in the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields. Tamarando on Saturday will try to become the first favorite to win the Grade 3 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park since the track switched to a synthetic surface. The California-based Tamarando is the 3-1 favorite in the Spiral; those odds could go lower if Enterprising delivers Saturday, as expected.

The main rivals for Enterprising in the Pasadena include sharp maiden winner Quotient and returning-to-turf Diamond Bachelor. Diamond Bachelor was among the top 2-year-olds on grass last year but misfired twice on dirt. He reportedly has trained well for his return to grass.

◗ Clubhouse Ride was nursing a sore foot early this week, which potentially compromises his chances to make the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic on April 19. Santa Anita Handicap winner Game On Dude will try to repeat in the Charles Town Classic.

◗ Blueskiesnrainbows and Majestic Harbor, one-two in the Grade 2 San Pasqual on Jan. 11, are leading contenders March 29 in the Grade 3 Tokyo City Cup. Blueskiesnrainbows will use the 1 1/2-mile Tokyo City to prep for the Charles Town Classic. Majestic Harbor’s sharp works this month suggest he enters the Tokyo City in top form.

◗ Midnight Hawk, the distant runner-up to California Chrome in the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 8, posted an impressive workout Monday at Santa Anita (1:00.20) and will go into the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby on Sunday as the horse to beat.