Scratches should help Hotshot Anna in Pan Zareta Stakes

Hotshot Anna, on the strength of blowout wins in the Grade 3 Chicago Handicap at Arlington and the Grade 2, $400,000 Presque Isle Masters, probably topped the North American older-female synthetic-surface sprint division during 2018.

Important note: Her first start of 2019 will come on either turf or dirt.

Hotshot Anna, owned and trained by Hugh Robertson, is entered to make her 5-year-old debut Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes. The Pan Zareta is carded for 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, but depending on how much more rain falls on already soggy Fair Grounds through Thursday night, the race could wind up on dirt. Hotshot Anna is fine on either surface – fine, but not nearly as good as she is on synthetics.

Hotshot Anna is the 7-2 morning-line second choice in the Pan Zareta, but the 3-1 morning-line favorite, Oxford Comma, was cross-entered in a Delta Downs stakes on Friday night and will start in that race, trainer Tom Amoss said, rather than at Fair Grounds.

Also expected to be scratched, according to trainer Al Stall, is Wild About Star. Stall will run Brielle’s Appeal, who was second in the blanket finish that covered the top three finishers in the Dec. 1 Richard Scherer Memorial Stakes, the meet’s first race in this division. Just behind her was She’s All Skeet, who also returns in the Pan Zareta, as does fourth-place finisher One Last Shot.

KEY CONTENDERS

Goldberry, by War Chant
Last 3 Beyers: 86-69-85

◗ Interesting mare. She was bred by the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Holdings but sold as a 2015 yearling for just $5,500 to Karen Schaffer. Goldberry didn’t post an official work until she was 4 and only debuted last May, but guess what – she can run.

◗ Has a 5-3-1-0 record in turf races, and if the Pan Zareta stays on grass, she will get back to what might be her best surface for the first time in four starts.

◗ Once a need-the-lead type, she has settled slightly off the pace recently, a plus in a speed-packed field.

◗ Makes her first start in the powerhouse barn of trainer Brad Cox.

She’s All Skeet, by Trappe Shot
Last 3 Beyers: 86-84-76

◗ Trainer Joe Sharp won this race last year with Triple Chelsea.

◗ Didn’t race in June, July, or August, and her third in the Scherer came three months after her most recent start. She can improve in this start.

Contributing, by Medaglia d’Oro
Last 3 Beyers: 59-72-90

◗ Showed nothing in the Scherer, her first start following a long break, but was second in this race a year ago and has a closing style that could suit the race flow.

◗ First start for trainer Brad Cox, who appears to have worked her a fast half-mile in company with Goldberry for this.

Upset Brewing, by Justin Philip
Last 3 Beyers: 82-72-71

◗ On the also-eligible list but figures to draw in if the race is rained onto dirt. On turf, she’s an outsider, but on the main track she rates as a key contender.

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