The long and short of it is this: Last Saturday was all about the classic distance, 1 1/4 miles on dirt, and this Saturday belongs to turf sprinters. Senorita A computer now generates the Santa Anita morning line, albeit with human input tweaking the margins. Sorry, computer – you goofed in the Senorita. No way Mo’ Em Down comes up as short as the 5-2 second choice as the line forecasts. There’s some support for Marjoram, but I can’t get there. Neither her debut victory nor workout video sets the blood boiling, and sure she stumbled badly at the start of the first-level allowance that Mo’ Em Down won (blinkers off after a win?), but no one really finished much in that race and I’m not putting a lot of stock in her late ground gain. Dreaming of Alys brings obscured form and rates a longshot chance, and I gave European shipper Bella Lyra a long look. After declining to switch off and over-racing in the early stages in several starts, her best race came at Royal Ascot in the Princess Margaret, where she settled nicely and turned in the best finish of her career, nearly nabbing second behind a high-level winner (who also beat Bella Lyra on debut). Bella Lyra just arrived in California and looked a little lost in video of her lone workout. She didn’t change leads, and I’d wager the same thing happens Saturday. :: Santa Anita Classic Meet! Get DRF Past Performances, Clocker Reports, and more. I rarely side with favorites in this space, but Light Won Up should prove tons the best, and something like the computer’s odds guess, 8-5, rises to the level of fair value. Yes, Light Won Up got a dream run slicing cleanly between horses turning for home in the Sweet Life, but the turn of foot she showed once clear – big-time. At Keeneland, in a race too short for her, she got subtly pinched back a half-furlong in and appeared to struggle over a new turf course. Light Won Up bobbled a couple times and after changing leads perfectly in the Sweet Life, she didn’t switch in the Limestone until the eighth pole. When she did, she kicked strongly again and probably was going best when fourth behind three fillies who would stand out in the Senorita. William Walker Using TimeformUS pace figures as a guide, favored Outfielder won’t be making an easy lead in the William Walker. Anyone close to the pace in the Palisades last month at Keeneland was flying: Throckmorton and Walter the Mason, if not comeback runner Twilight Delight, will show speed. Throckmorton, considering his nearness to the Palisades pace, ran very well in defeat – so well that he figures to regress coming back on three weeks’ rest. Palisades winner Reb Five could not have gotten a better setup, not only closing into a taxing pace but saving ground through the entire turn. Rebel With a Cause takes quite a large step up in class – but I think he has plenty more to give. Ignore his dirt debut: Terrible trouble there, and he’s not a dirt horse, though I have not minded the look of his recent Keeneland breezes. The trainer, who rode him in those works, said that while they might look all right, this horse goes much, much better working on Tapeta. And from the appearance of his sharp grass win last out, he’s at least as good on turf as synthetic. Rebel With a Cause could get a juicy setup, has ample upside, and catches a group with a bunch of plausibly vulnerable short prices. :: Get ready for Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies No filly in this race has a stronger turf pedigree than Ireland-bred Dee Snook, who is bred to be a quick sprinter-miler, and I think Doug O’Neill, who also trains Light Won Up, sent her from Keeneland to Florida with a purpose. If one assumes Dee Snook will turn out to be a grass filly, the encouraging dirt work video from Keeneland takes on even brighter shine. She finished very well in her April 22 breeze, and after breaking from the gate May 1 just okay, she zoomed between horses with a nice display of speed, once again traveling well. Pot’s Right probably goes favored. No video of her turf work, and her Keeneland debut score, to me, looks better on paper than replay. Wesley Ward says Joker’s Chic worked like a wild horse on grass in late winter. Could be, but she’s getting bet here. Doubt Dee Snook takes much action, and no surprise if she outruns her odds. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.