SANTA ANITA-OPENING DAY
Race 1
2yo maidens go six furlongs. No. 4 Provost is the key player in here, making his first start for John Sadler as he gets Joel Rosario in the irons. Rosario looks to make a quick impact today as he will be riding the entire meet at Santa Anita. No. 1 Moon Mischief is the stablemate of Provost and has hit the board in all three of his starts. No. 6 Garth looks the main danger with the Drayden Van Dyke/Bob Baffert angle. 4-6-1
Race 2
THE $75K LADY OF SHAMROCK AT A MILE ON THE GRASS FOR 3YO FILLIES
No. 1 Keeper Ofthe Stars won the Grade 3 Autumn Miss here and has been working great. No. 5 Angel Alessandra just worked a bullet here on the 19th and also owns a win on this turf course. No. 8 Lucky Peridot gets Javier Castellano up for Peter Miller. 1**-5-8
Race 3
$30k maidens go six furlongs and we will key on No. 5 Rickie Nine Toe’s who exits our HTW list off a big second first out of the box. We will use him first and second with No. 3 Swift Socks who exits the same race and No. 7 Tacocat on the drop. 5**-3-7
KEY PLAY
WIN AND PLACE 5 AND A KEY EXACTA BOX 5 WITH 3-7
Race 4
$62,500 maidens travel a mile on the grass. We had No. 1 FIVESTAR LYNCH in his last start when he was storming home only to lose the head bob on the line. Jockey Flavien Prat will re-ride him today and we look for a cozy rail trip and a visit to the winners circle. We will bet him to win and also single in the pick five. We will also play one exacta box using No. 5 Camps Bay who exits the same last race. 1***-5
KEY PLAY
WIN 1 AND A STRAIGHT EXACTA 1 WITH 5
Race 5
THE $200K GRADE 2 SAN ANTONIO AT 1-1/16
We should have got this gift on Thursday, the day after Christmas but we will take it today. No. 2 Gift Box is back in town after finishing 4th in the Grade 2 Steven Foster at Churchill Downs. He finished second here in the Grade 1 Gold Cup, losing by less than a length. We will single in the pick five and play exacta key boxes using No. 1 Gray Magician and No. 6 Midcourt. 2**-1-6
KEY PLAY
WIN AND PLACE 2 AND A KEY EXACTA BOX 2 WITH 1-6
Race 6
THE $300K GRADE 1 AMERICAN OAKS FOR 3YO FILLIES AT 1-1/4 ON THE GRASS
No. 2 Apache Princess likes this track and looks to grab a piece. No. 3 Mucho Unusual has won 2 of her 3 starts on this course and gets Rosario up today. No. 5 LADY PRANCEALOT is the filly to beat. She rarely runs a bad race and just won the Grade 1 Valley View at Keeneland in her last start when Joe Bravo rode her, he comes in for the ride. 5**-2-3
Race 7
THE $300K GRADE 1 LA BREA AT SEVEN FURLONGS FOR 3YO FILLIES
No. 5 Bellafina has won 4 of her 5 starts on this course with one second. No. 6 Bell’s the One could be as she is in from back east and Javier Castellano will ride. Her last work was on this track and it was a doozy to say the least. No. 9 Mother Mother looks to turn the tables on Bellafina who has beat here three times.
5-6-9
Race 8
THE $100K GRADE 3 ROBERT J FRANKEL AT 1-1/8 ON THE GRASS FOR FILLIES AND MARES
No. 1 Tiny Tina gets Flavien Prat back on today, he won with this filly the last two times he rode her. No. 2 Excellent Sunset is a must use as she is in top form and gets Rosario up for Richard Baltas. No. 7 MIRTH is the key runner in here, she is the speed with Mike Smith delegating the pace. 7***-1-2
Race 9
THE $300K GRADE 1 MALIBU AT SEVEN FURLONGS FOR 3YO
This should be illegal as Bob Baffert sends out three of the five runners in this race, but Chad Brown brings in No. 2 Complexity with Castellano riding. We don’t see him beating No. 5 Omaha Beach with Mike Smith riding for Richard Mandella. 5***-2
Race 10
THE $200K MATHIS BROTHERS AT ONE MILE ON THE GRASS FOR 3YO
No. 2 Originaire exits the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby as does No. 5 Mo Forza and No. 6 Neptune’s Storm. One will win and they could run one, two three. 2-5-6
KEY PLAY
EXACTA BOX 2-5-6
Race 11
Calif. bred $50k maiden 2yo travel six furlongs. We will take a shot and single No. 2 INCLUDE THE TAX in this the last leg of the pick four, he exits a key race and gets a major rider switch. 2**
WIN AND PLACE 2
CHECK FOR LATE SCRATCHES