Solid field for San Pasqual Stakes
ARCADIA, Calif. – Whether the goal is preparing for the $600,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 10, the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31, or simply achieving a graded stakes win, the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday has several compelling storylines.
Mubtaahij, who won the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes here in September, is a candidate for a third consecutive appearance in the Dubai World Cup, pending how he runs in Saturday’s race.
The Lieutenant, a sharp winner at Los Alamitos in December, will have his graded stakes debut in the $200,000 San Pasqual at 1 1/8 miles, a race that could lead to the Big Cap for him.
Accelerate, who won the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap last summer, is well suited to the San Pasqual distance, having won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby at 1 1/8 miles in 2016.
Those are three of the nine runners. The San Pasqual Stakes is the eighth race on a nine-race program and the last of four graded stakes on an excellent program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Pacific.
In other stakes, Roy H, the champion sprinter of 2017, has his first start of the year in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs. The Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles could produce a few runners for the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 7. Itsinthepost will be favored to win his fifth Grade 2 turf stakes in the last year in the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes at 1 1/4 miles.
KEY CONTENDERS
Mubtaahij, by Dubawi
Last 3 Beyers: 98-92-102
◗ Mubtaahij was second to California Chrome in the 2016 Dubai World Cup and fourth to Arrogate last year prior to joining trainer Bob Baffert’s stable last summer. Mubtaahij won the Awesome Again Stakes in his first start for Baffert, and first race in seven months, before finishing 10th of 11 in the Breeders’ Cup Clasic at Del Mar on Nov. 4.
◗ Owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al-Maktoum of Dubai, Mubtaahij has not started since finishing third as the favorite in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar on Nov. 25.
“He’s coming into this race better,” Baffert said. “He ran so well off the long layoff. I threw him in the deep in the Breeders’ Cup, but he didn’t like Del Mar.
“He’s trained very well. It think he’ll run a big race.”
Accelerate, by Lookin At Lucky
Last 3 Beyers: 102-84-110
◗ Accelerate was ninth in the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 and second by 3 1/4 lengths to Giant Expectations in the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes at 1 1/16 miles here Dec. 26.
◗ Accelerate, who will be ridden by Victor Espinoza, is expected to be near the front.
“He finished well the other day,” trainer John Sadler said. “He came from a little bit off of it. I do want to be up close and out of trouble.”
The Lieutenant, by Street Sense
Last 3 Beyers: 96-89-88
◗ The Lieutenant closed smartly to win an optional claimer at a mile by a half-length at Los Alamitos on Dec. 17. Trainer Michael McCarthy thinks The Lieutenant is ready for a graded stakes.
“We want him to string a few good races together,” he said. “He’s not faced this kind before, but I think a mile and an eighth is within his scope.”
◗ Flavien Prat will ride The Lieutenant for the first time since a maiden win in May 2016. The Lieutenant, a 5-year-old, is best from off the pace.
“I think we’ll be in the second tier, a comfortable stalking trip,” McCarthy said.
Top of the Game, by Desert Party
Last 3 Beyers: 68-94-104
◗ After a win in the Comma to the Top Stakes at a mile in October, Top of the Game finished a troubled fourth in the Native Diver and last of 10 in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Stakes on turf Jan. 6.
“He hated the grass,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said.
◗ The loss in the Native Diver Stakes stings Cerin, who watched Top of the Game steady in traffic with a quarter-mile remaining.
“He was probably the best horse in the race,” he said.
Top of the Game can prove that on Saturday.
