The Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap is the one of the marquee events of the Santa Anita winter/spring meet. Classic horses such Alysheba, Free House and Lava Man has won this race in the past. This year’s rendition took a bit of a hit when defending champion Game On Dude decided to defect from the race to go after the riches in Dubai later in the month. A field of thirteen lines up in attempt to take over the crown, with the four year old Ultimate Eagle being the morning line favorite. Let’s take a look at some of the contenders in a race run at the same distance and track as this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Ultimate Eagle has won of all his races by using his early speed to clear off from his rivals and never giving them a chance to catch him. He won the Grade 2 Strub Stakes last time out, clearing away from fellow speedball Tapizar, putting that foe and the rest of the field away winning by several lengths. He has worked well since the race, including a bullet work across town at his base at Hollywood Park. The ten furlongs is not an issue, since he won a Grade 1 at the distance (on turf). His main defect is that if he does not make the lead, he will not pass another horse. If some other horse insists on the lead, it could hurt the Eagle’s chances.
Setsuko is the highest returning finisher from last year’s edition. He finished a game second after taking the worst of the bumping incident. The rest of his year didn’t go so well, leading to him being gelded after his poor finish in the Pacific Classic. He came back this year seemingly a new horse, winning an allowance race in fine fashion. His nasty hanging habit looks to be behind him, and he would seem to appreciate every yard of the ten furlong distance. But was the allowance win just an aberration?
Ron the Greek is the sole out-of-town invader in the field, having finished second in the Sunshine Millions Classic last time out. This one time Derby Trail casualty struggled to find the winner’s circle for nearly two years until he was turned over to hands of his current trainer Bill Mott (trainer of Cigar and last year’s BC Classic winner Drosselmeyer). He has not been out of the exacta in his four races in his current barn. He has developed more into a grinder than the pure closer he once was, allowing him to stay within contact of the leaders early. He seems to be going better than ever, but can he handle the rise to Grade 1 competition along with the ten furlong distance?
Norvsky is an interesting longshot. From the same connections as Champion Older Male Acclamation, this Cal-bred looks to add to his G2 win at the meet. In his only other dirt try, he finished a good second to a lone speed horse. While ten furlongs might be his upper limit, he has shown plenty in his recent turf stakes efforts to deserve a shot against this field. He figures to sit mid-pack and grind his way to victory. Class could be a problem.
Bob Baffert looks to three-peat with his second-stringer Prayer For Relief. While he is a multiple graded stakes winner, he has been well beaten in his last three starts. Even his work tab does not show those typical swift early a.m. drills that Baffert is known for with his charges. Uh Oh Bango is a game animal who has put together two nice efforts lately but it looks like this is just too far for him.
Our pick to win the Big ‘Cap is Ultimate Eagle. He looks head and shoulders the best in this race. Martin Pedroza says he is the best horses among thousands that he has ridden. He hasn’t peaked yet either. Look for him to put on a show in the Santa Anita Handicap. If he should falter, or if you doubt him, look to Ron The Greek and Setsuko.
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