ARCADIA, Calif. – The Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday lost a leading contender on Thursday when trainer Peter Eurton said Westwood will be withdrawn from consideration because of concern over the distance and the way the race may develop. The decision was made by owner Lee Searing, who races as CRK Stable with his wife Susan. Eurton said that Westwood will be redirected to the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic at 1 1/8 miles at Fair Grounds on March 22. The $300,000 Santa Anita Handicap is run at 1 1/4 miles and is expected to have a sharp pace. Westwood was expected to be prominent early. He led throughout the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Jan. 31. “We feel he’s better at a touch shorter,” Eurton said. :: Santa Anita Classic Meet! Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. Westwood is scheduled to work on Sunday at Santa Anita before being flown to New Orleans on Wednesday. “I’m happy with the way he’s training,” Eurton said. Westwood is the second prominent defection from the Big Cap since entries were taken on Monday. Skippylongstocking, winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 24, was scratched after he became upset shortly after being loaded on a plane in Florida on Tuesday. Skippylongstocking was taken off the plane. The absences of Skippylongstocking and Westwood leaves Just a Touch a strong favorite among the remaining five entrants. Just a Touch, second in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds on Jan. 17, will race against Getaway Car and Midnight Mammoth, who were second and last of five in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on Jan. 31; Vodka Vodka, who won the Unusual Heat Turf Classic for statebreds at 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 17; and British Isles, who was fifth in the Pegasus World Cup and second in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar last November. British Isles and Vodka Vodka have yet to win a graded stakes. Just a Touch will be ridden by Florent Geroux, who has been aboard the horse for nine of his 10 starts and all three of his wins. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode Just a Touch in the Louisiana Stakes. Just a Touch was second by a neck in the Louisiana Stakes after a disrupted start and a wide trip, a race Geroux has studied. “He hopped a little bit at the start,” Geroux said. “He moved his head at the wrong time. He was wide on both turns. The winner that day was on the lead and on the fence.” Geroux’s familiarity with Just a Touch is an asset, but the veteran rider knows there are uncertainties about the 5-year-old’s chances on Saturday. Just a Touch has started once at 1 1/4 miles, finishing last of 20 in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and has yet to win a stakes in seven attempts. “The distance will be a question mark,” Geroux said. “I think distance-wise he should appreciate it. “My main concern is for some reason he doesn’t like to get it done. He’s won some allowance races very easily.” Trained by Brad Cox for Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel, Just a Touch is the lone shipper in the Big Cap, the richest race for older horses on dirt in California during the first half of the year. Cox, whose stable led the nation in earnings last year with more than $30.2 million, has yet to win a Big Cap despite recent close finishes. The Cox-trained Warrant was second in 2022, while Hit Show was third last year. Hit Show won the $12 million Dubai World Cup last April. Geroux rode Hit Show in the 2025 Big Cap and Dubai World Cup. On Saturday, Just a Touch may have a tactical advantage. Even without Westwood in the race, runners such as Getaway Car, Vodka Vodka, and perhaps Midnight Mammoth should ensure an honest pace. Getaway Car, trained by Bob Baffert, led throughout his most recent stakes win, the Sunland Park Derby at 1 1/16 miles in February 2025. Saturday’s race is Getaway Car’s first appearance at 1 1/4 miles. “He’s one-dimensional,” Baffert said last weekend, in reference to Getaway Car’s forward style. If a rapid pace develops, Geroux could easily have Just a Touch well-placed behind the leaders approaching the stretch. “I think he can stalk,” Geroux said. “On his best day, he can win a race like this.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.