SANTA ANITA, Calif. -- The San Vicente marks the start of the 3-year-old stakes in Southern California. It’s not officially on the Kentucky Derby trail, and in recent years, that’s been appropriate: only Nyquist in 2016 won this race and went on to win the Kentucky Derby. Swaps won both the 1955 San Vicente and Kentucky Derby; 2016 runner-up Exaggerator won the Preakness. Many fine horses have run in the San Vicente, and this year’s field has some interesting runners.
3 of the 5 starters already have stakes experience, and the other 2 are exiting excellent maiden wins, both on first asking. Let’s meet the field, and put together our weekly wager. If you’re wagering on the racing in California, check out AmWager! They’ve got a 100% deposit match up to $150 for new customers.
Grade 2 San Vicente. 7 furlongs, dirt. 3-year-olds. $200,000.
1. Greenwich Village. 5/1. Jockey: Hector Berrios. Trainer: Bob Baffert.
Greenwich Village makes his 2nd career start here, coming out of an impressive win on debut in early December at Los Alamitos. Most of trainer Bob Baffert’s very best horses come from spots other than Los Al, whether it be Santa Anita or Del Mar. I think much of the success on debut is pedigree-related: G.V. is by Quality Road, and Australian turf on the dam side. Los Al’s course plays well for turf-types; I think G.V. can hit the board, but is an unlikely winner.
Comment: toss.
2. So Happy. 3/1. Jockey: Mike Smith. Trainer: Mark Glatt.
So Happy is another runner making his 2nd start, exiting a good maiden win on debut at Del Mar in November. Trainer Mark Glatt will likely keep this son of Runhappy at a similar distance to this, and we should expect a good effort on Saturday. Glatt’s struggles in graded stakes are well-documented (he’s 1-for-34 in recent stakes), so we’ll play against.
Comment: toss.
3. Buetane. 6/5. Jockey: Juan Hernandez. Trainer: Bob Baffert.
Buetane was a horse-to-watch this past summer, so much so the connections shipped him to Saratoga to try Grade 1 company in his 2nd career start. That race resulted in a 2nd-place finish behind Ted Noffey, the near-lock 2-year-old horse of the year. I think Baffert might be using this race to gear up for the Derby trail; this should be a solid jumping off point.
Comment: most likely winner.
4. Acknowledgemeplz. 5/2. Jockey: Kazushi Kimura. Trainer: Doug O’Neill.
Trainer Doug O’Neill won this race in 2016 with Nyquist, later winning that year’s Kentucky Derby. He’ll try again with Acknoledgemeplz, who he’s throwing the blinkers on. He tried 2 turns last out in the Grade 2 Los Al Futurity, and the distance was simply too much on that date. I love the turn back in distance, and think he’s very live.
Comment: can win.
5. Thirsty Rebel. 8/1. Jockey: Abel Lezcano. Trainer: Doug O’Neill.
Thirsty Rebel dominated his most recent race, a 6 furlong sprint for Cal-breds at Los Al. He has experience against state-bred stakes company, but this is a big ask. He’s an intact son of Stay Thirsty; watch for him in Cal-bred stakes this year.
Comment: tough spot.
The Sporting Tribune Wager:
$.50 Pick 4, starts race 4 ($24):
4,8,9,10 / 3 / 5,6,10 / 1,6,7,8. Good Luck!
