There is an exciting weekend of racing at Santa Anita on Saturday, with three graded races set to take place. Two Grade 2s are on the menu for racing fans, and come in the form of the competitive Santa Monica Stakes and San Pasqual Stakes. Find out the best bets to make with the top horse racing sportsbooks right here.
Thunder Road Stakes- Grade 3
We will start with the very first race on the card on Saturday at Santa Anita, which is the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes. A competitive field looks to have take shape, with all but one of the horses in the betting priced below 10/1 to claim victory.
Subconscious is the entrant at the top of the betting for trainer Richard Mandella. This horse has been in stunning form over the past 12 months, picking up three victories from four starts. However, his winning run was brought to an end last time out, as he struggled to fifth in the G1 Hollywood Derby. Back down in graded this weekend, we should expect a strong effort on the basis of his win in the G2 Twilight Derby.
However, the pick would be for Count Again, for the connections of Flavien Prat and Philip D’Amato. This seven-year-old won’t be hampered by a poor draw, and has proven graded form in the book. He was fifth in the G2 Del Mar Mile and third in the G2 Eddie Read last year. He has also clocked up a win in the G2 Seabiscuit. Like Subconscious, he is taken a step back in grade, but we expect a winning start to the year.
Pick: Count Again
Santa Monica Stakes- Grade 2
The first of the Grade 2s on the agenda this weekend is the Santa Monica Stakes. It looks set to be a mouth-watering battle between the top three in the betting, with Full of Grace and Park Avenue likely to be playing catch up behind the leading contenders.
Merneith won the G2 Santa Monica Stakes in February last year and returned from a long lay-off with a second in the Kalookan Queen Stakes. Another strong bid is likely here. Kalypso is the second of the Baffert-trained horses, and comes here after bouncing back to form in fine fashion when landing the G1 La Brea Stakes in December.
However, it looks very hard to see past the Breeders’ Cup hero involved here, as Ce Ce looks for a third straight win. She was outstanding in the Filly and Mare Sprint at Del Mar when overcome Gamine, and will be more than comfortable around Santa Anita, having landed the G3 Chillingworth Stakes in October.
Pick: Ce Ce
San Pasqual Stakes- Grade 2
The final graded race on the card this Saturday is the San Pasqual Stakes. Like many of the races at Santa Anita, there is a small field will all involved having strong chances. Eight Rings is a leading contender if she is able to get back to the form that we saw when she landed the G1 American Pharoah in 2019, but just once victory since then in an allowance optional claiming doesn’t do her chances much good. Most recently, she has been third in both the G3 Native Diver and G2 San Antonio Stakes.
Spielberg is also trained by Baffert, and is looking for a second straight win after landing an allowance optional success at the beginning of January. Law Professor is looking a three-timer, and landed the G2 Santa Anita Mathis Mile here on his latest start.
But, the preference remains for Express Train. The five-year-old made a winning return at Santa Anita in December, as he landed the G2 San Antonio Stakes. He also landed this race 12 months ago, and picked up success in the G2 San Diego Handicap. He is the most proven around this track, and is the classiest involved.
Pick: Express Train
