In last year’s San Felipe, Life Is Good established himself as a potential Triple Crown winner with one of the most formidable victories in recent Derby prep memory. Though an injury kept him out of all three races, he eventually returned and is now the best dirt horse in the country.
This year’s running of the San Felipe does not seem to feature anyone as strong; in fact, most of the runners are either fixer uppers or untested at route distances. But hey, as long as Baffert horses aren’t collecting Derby points, I’m content with the California racing scene. Let’s take a quick peek and get out of here.
Santa Anita, Race 6
San Felipe Stakes (G2) for Three-Year-Olds, 1 1/16 Miles on the Dirt
Post Time: 5:30 p.m. EST
1- Happy Jack
When he ran in the G3 Robert B. Lewis, I said that I liked his maiden win but struggled to see him improving. He didn’t. In fact, he ran significantly worse to finish dead last in the five-horse field. He’s tough to support here.
2- Worse Read Sanchez
Word on the street is that Doug O’Neill has been considering entering this colt in a number of Derby preps this year, and he seems to be pulling the trigger. There’s nothing to suggest he can win — the speed figures are light, he’s run on turf in his last three starts and has never faced horses in open company before. But hey, he’s here for some reason, right?
3- Armagnac
He didn’t look overly impressive in his maiden victory last time, but he still took care of business in typical wire-to-wire fashion for Bob Baffert. The problem is that he doesn’t appear to be Baffert’s top horse in this race, and it isn’t that difficult to figure out. He’ll have to improve.
4- Beautiful Art
Anyone ever seen a $200,000 maiden claiming race before? What’s the point of that? Anyway, dropping from maiden special weight competition did the trick for this colt last time out, as he pulled away in the late stages after a fairly clear stalking effort. He has to take another step forward to compete against this field. It’s worth noting that Flavien Prat is leaving to ride fellow runner Doppelganger.
5- Doppelganger
He’s a monster in the mornings running with training partner Country Grammer, as his workout tab is arguably one of the best I’ve ever seen. But after an impressive maiden victory at Los Alamitos, he got run off his feet in the G2 San Vicente by fellow runner Forbidden Kingdom. I can forgive that somewhat because he wasn’t alone; Pinehurst also struggled to catch the front runner that day and came back to win a stakes race in Saudi Arabia last weekend. Taking a step forward in defeat is always a positive sign and the distance should only help him.
6- Forbidden Kingdom
The layoff seemed to do the trick for this colt last time out in the G2 San Vicente, as he flashed his trademark early speed and had plenty in reserve to win handily. The 94 BSF he earned is by far the best anyone has earned in this field and makes him an obvious favorite. It’s tempting to go against him at an unfamiliar distance, but it won’t be that difficult for him to get the lead to himself either.
7- Cabo Spirit
Well, he finished second in the G3 Robert B. Lewis, but he also lost by 15 lengths. That race truly was Messier and the rest, which diminishes this runner’s performance in his graded stakes debut. He will need to take a step forward, though he probably won’t have to deal with anyone as tough as the one he had to face last time.
Order: 5 6 7 3
This is obviously a two-horse race between a pair that faced off in the San Vicente. Doppelganger lost that day at seven furlongs, but I feel that he is rounding into form and should only get stronger as he stretches out in distance. Forbidden Kingdom is still formidable though, and with the lead to himself, he can easily pass the distance test and clear another hurdle on the way to the Derby. Cabo Spirit and Armagnac are interesting runners in their own right, but they simply seem to be a step below here.