The American Oaks candidates are gathering at Santa Anita and bettors will have a full variety of options. The Grade 1 vehicle for 3-year-old fillies will be renewed on grass on New Year’s Eve at the classic distance of a mile and a quarter. As in all races, pace makes the race and for stone-old closer Cheekaboo, she will need plenty of pace to succeed in this event.
Her trainer Pete Eurton can read a Racing Form as well as anybody and he knows the conditions that Cheekaboo needs is speed, speed and more speed. He said so in Ed Golden’s Santa Anita notes, Eurton: “She’ll still need speed in there. She has to have a pace . . . she needs speed and then the parting of the Red Sea.”
To be frank, Cheekaboo will need a ton of luck to get there or to be considered one of the serious American Oaks candidates Saturday. She pretty much punched her ticket to this event when she shocked in the Grade 2 Honeymoon in June, but she was 23-1 on the tote board. She may not have adored the soft course at Keeneland last time but she has won a minor stakes off a layoff. The concern with all runners that are speed challenged is that they rely on things unfolding perfectly. The splits have to be right, the other contenders have to duel and tire themselves out and then a runner with no speed has to rally in time. In order to rally in time, the runner then has to avoid a traffic jam. The obstacles are not simple to overcome.
Those who like Barleysuger, will be looking at a sweet price. The filly has trained forwardly for this but was crushed in her last effort.
Sassy Little Lila has only run one poor race and she was hung out to dry that day from post position ten. She has valid speed and ran well when second in her stakes debut last month in the Winter Memories at Aqueduct. She also has a chance to have a nice career as her dam won a stakes and the top sibling Pomology banked over $250,000 winning three of her four races. The lone loss came in the Group 1 Qatar Prix Vermeille back in the day.
Queen Blossom is one of the wild card American Oaks candidates. She has not raced since May but she won her racing debut in game style at 16-1. She will be making her first start in the United States but is in the clever training hands of Graham Motion.
Mokat is trained by Richard Baltas, who has been on a flat-out roll for several years now. She has not ducked anybody in her career and she was far from disgraced when beaten by undefeated champion Songbird in the Santa Anita Oaks. She has the credentials to succeed and party New Year’s Eve like its 1999.
How Unusual is another that was life and death to win her last race by just a scant nose. As far as American Oaks candidates are concerned, she is up against it for a number of reason. First and foremost is because she has zero velocity.
Dynamic Mizzes K was fully extended in her last effort and it was against a much softer group. She has never won at Santa Anita and she was embarrassed in her other stakes attempt.
Do the Dance is peaking at the right time and is coming off a pair of wins. Trained by Gary Sherlock, who won the opening day race at Santa Anita on December 26, Do the Dance has been handled by some other American Oaks candidates.
Mrs. Norris is basically barking up the wrong tree. To consider her one of the serious American Oaks candidates is a stretch to say the least. She has only won once and she is zero for 8 on grass.
When handicapping this race this weekend and when separating the true American Oaks candidates put a lot of emphasis on a horse being able to get this distance. Going a mile and a quarter is not for the weak at heart.
