Santa Anita Sunday

[The Spaniard]

race 1: tough puzzle: (7)FIRE WITH FIRE returns to the track just three weeks after his good Hollywood Turf Cup. His trainer is conservative, and we can read this quick return as a sign of the horses wellbeing. He also have some tactical speed, necessary in a race with no pace.

1 win/ 3 show.

2nd ($3.20 - 2.40)

[The Spaniard]

race 2: (3)COURTSIDE is burning the track in the morning and rises in class after a short layoff. It looks like after losing his form running stakes and optional 62k he's back ready to roll in his actual true level of 25.000 straight claimers.

1 win / 2 place

2nd ($3.00 - 2.20)

[The Spaniard]

race 3: (3)SEÑORITA CAUTELOSA broke badly in her debut and after showing a nice burst of speed she had a tight trip on the rail with no way to go on the far turn and a narrow path on the home stretch. The race has sharpened the filly

before the race: 1.01.1
after the race: 59.2 (8 lengths faster)

and today she runs over the same track where she's training. She may beat the Arizona raider, who ran evenly in her debut.

NP

[The Spaniard]

race 4: (8)MILK MAN RAY improved a ton when moved from sprint to route and from dirt to polytrack (33 > 61) and he did that while having a nightmare trip. This gelding broodmare side is from a family of New Zeland turf runners, and Terrel (by Distorted Humor, excellent turf sire)) is doing fine with his runners on the green. This is a case similar of his trainining companion (10)Pocket Prince. First time turf he can upset in this wide open race.

NP

[The Spaniard]

race 5: 6 for 10 dirt winner (11)MELANISTIC seems to me a dirt only filly. She was overmatched at the 25.000 optional claiming and running on turf and tapeta. This filly has speed a knows how to rate. Today, back on dirt and placed as the outiside speed she could reissue her victory here on Oct 8th (by 5 lengths, 77 Beyer, 2 points above par) where she just enjoyed Santa Anita main track running at this level.

NP

[The Spaniard]

race 6: the favorite (5) victories always come from easy, uncontested leads, but here (7)Rock This Way could challenge that lead. (1)MAYBE TUESDAY debuts for Mike Mitchell and may improve.

1st ($13.00 - 6.60 - 4.40)

[The Spaniard]

race 7: favorite (3)Luckarack could have and slight bounce after running big (92 Beyer) of a layoff returning to the track just 3 weeks later (he can run well but not at his top). (6)Obsess raw speed (21.2 > 44.0) is a frontrunning threat running fresh, but (8)HARDTAP looked like an special colt blasting maidens in Kentucky with a big Beyer and his bullet on Dec 23th may be a sign of an imminent rebound

NP

[The Spaniard]

race 8: the favorite (6)Mizdirection has lost only 2 turf sprints. Those were races with a pace not quick enough for the level. Speedball (3)KINDLE last time showed he's learning to rate his speed (23.0 > 45.4) and won easily reaching the 100 Beyer. If he rates again he could repeat.

2nd ($3.00- 2.60)

[The Spaniard]

race 9: (7)VON NEZZ has a 100% dirt pedigree. She's run 2 dirt races, an stakes in Fairplex and a 2nd here against state MSW over a sloppy track with a 67 Beyer, 8 points, 4 lengths better than the par for this level. This mare maybe has been losing time and form running on turf (16: 0- 0 -2). Second after the layoff, cutting back in trip from the mile to 7f and dropping right to the bottom she could win with nice odds. (14)Persian Kitten for the exacta box.

NP