California Chrome will look to extend his winning streak to 6 and add to his $13.252,650 bankroll in Saturday’s Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita. In spite of a modest G1 purse of only $300,000, the race presents California Chrome the opportunity to prep over the same Santa Anita course that he will run in the Breeder’s Cup Classic. The folks at Santa Anita are also offering a $1million bonus for a sweep of the Pacific Classic, Awesome Again Stakes, and Breeder’s Cup Classic. Chrome won the G1 Pacific Classic a few weeks ago. One down, two to go.
With the North American all-time leading money winner in the field of 7, will there be an opportunity for us to pad our own bankrolls in this 1-1/8 mile affair? It will be a tough task to beat Can California Chrome so I will be looking to find a price horse to finish second and pay us in the Exacta.
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The race sets up with 5 of the 7 runners having similar early speed or stalking running styles. This includes California Chrome and morning line 2nd choice Dortmund. During the May thru July meet at Santa Anita the course marginally favored these running styles but not to an extent where we could throw out the closers. In route races, post position win percentages were fairly even.
When taking a closer look at the early speed horses, while several contenders are gaining early leads, nobody in the field has been cutting fast fractions in doing so. Even California Chrome’s Pacific Classic run, where he led every call, started with respectable but not spectacular fractions over at Del Mar. The fastest first quarter of anyone in the field over their last two races was by Soi Phet in a $75,000 stake at Del Mar back in August. He followed that up with a brutally slow first quarter his next time out.
Breaking from the rail, I look for jockey Victor Espinoza to have Chrome control the pace and win the race. The Art Sherman trainee’s recent early AND late pace figures are superior to everyone else in the field. Obviously his overall speed figures top the field as well.
With Chrome in control of the pace I don’t see it getting too fast so my focus for 2nd place finishers is still with the stalkers. Win the Space, with Gary Stevens aboard, was pulled up and vanned off at the Pacific Classic so I will look elsewhere. The same goes for Hard Aces who barely finished his run at the Pacific Classic. El Huerfano, trained by Peter Miller and ridden by Martin Pedroza, looks outclassed with speed figures that are simply too slow. Soi Phet may impact the early part of the race but trainer Leonard Powell is 0/14 in graded stakes.
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Sorry to say that I am left to decide between Bob Baffert’s two short priced stablemates, Dortmund and Hoppertunity, for second. Strictly off of their performances in the Pacific Classic, I will have to stick with Dortmund. Jockey Rafael Bejarano broke from post 8 and was outside of Beholder while unnecessarily wide over both turns. Nobody was catching Chrome that day, but Dortmund overcame his wide trip to save 3rd over a ground-saving Hoppertunity. Dortmund will be getting post position relief as he will break from the 2-hole, just to stablemate Hoppertunity’s inside. Also, according to the Brisnett pp’s, Dortmund will add blinkers, most likely in an attempt to sharpen his early run.
The bottom line is that California Chrome will win the race, and my pick is for a short-priced exacta with Dortmund getting second. It’s a sad day when I am all about the chalk.
