Ready for opening day at Santa Anita? Well Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and onward to Thursday’s start of the 90th year of racing at The Great Race Place.
The 11-race card on Dec. 26 is packed with graded stakes races – three Grade 1s (one on turf, two on dirt) and three Grade 2s (two on turf, one on dirt).
For those who bet horse racing, here are some tips on the turf races to start (Picks for the Thursday’s dirt races will be published Tuesday, Dec. 24):
$200,000 San Gabriel Stakes (G2), 1 1/8 miles, turf, race 7, 5 p.m. ET post
No California-based horse has won the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) since Singletary in 2004, but Johannes came close Nov. 2 at Del Mar. Trainer Tim Yakteen’s 4-year-old star surged through the final quarter in 22 4/5 seconds to finish three-quarters of a length behind More Than Looks.
Johannes. Benoit Photo
The son of hot sire Nyquist went off at 4-1 odds that day. His odds Thursday are 4-5 because he’s the ultimate horse for course (6-for-6 at Santa Anita) and 5-for-5 off layoffs. He’s the favorite in a field of nine.
So, who fits underneath him in the exacta? Perhaps Seal Team (8-1), ridden by Flavien Prat, who needs one graded stakes victory to break Jerry Bailey’s 2003 record of 55. Seak Team is 3-for-3 at 1 1/8 miles on grass and comes off a promising run in which he made a three-wide middle move before tiring.
Though not in Johannes’ league, Easter (6-1) is another strong finisher and goes for California’s top turf trainer, Phil D’Amato.
The picks: 1 Johannes 2 Seal Team 3 Easter
$200,000 Mathis Mile (G2), 1 mile, turf, race 9, 6 p.m. post
Prat has another chance to surpass Bailey on 6-5 favorite King of Gosford, with Stay Hot at 7-2. They split their only two meetings, so there’s little to choose between them.
Prat is 2-for-2 on King of Gosford, who was second (to Stay Hot) and third in his only graded stakes tries. He gets the rail and seems ready to make the breakthrough.
The picks: 1 King of Gosford 2 Stay Hot 3 Atitlan
$300,000 American Oaks (G1), 1¼ miles, turf, race 11, 7 p.m. post
The one to beat is 7-5 favorite She Feels Pretty, who ran a career top last time in a six-length runaway in the 1 1/8-mile Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Keeneland. The 3-year-old filly zipped her final furlong in 11.63 seconds, making it likely that she will stay another eighth of a mile.
Her toughest rival shapes up as 4-1 Kathynmarissa, for whom 1¼ miles should be no problem. She dominated in a 1 5/16-mile stakes at Kentucky Downs last out after running second by 1½ lengths to European standout Cinderella’s Dream in the 1 3/16-mile Saratoga Oaks. A month earlier, Cinderella’s Dream beat She Feels Pretty by three-quarters of a length, so it’s a tossup between today’s top two.
A field of 13 3-year-old fillies is entered.