Race Selections: Grade I Santa Margarita

TSV Staff Selections —-

SANTA ANITA

Race 9) Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes F&M 4yo & up 1&1/8th Miles Post Time 7:18 EDT

“Hot” horses appear to have the upper hand in this Grade 1 contest for fillies and mares, and two that stand out are the filly (1) La Force and 5-year-old (3) Mended.

La Force has put together five straight improving efforts with her last a clearing win over Santa Anita OC’s; Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith returns.

Mended had her multi-race win streak snapped by a head last out in the G2 La Canada, but it demonstrated that she clearly is ready for this level.

Mopotism (9) enters off a distant second to Unique Bella in the Santa Maria, however she’ll need to return to the winning form demonstrated in the La Canada that saw her sit closer to the early leaders to threaten for the win.

Keep your eyes on a pair from the Jerry Hollendorfer barn, (2) Turkish Tabby and (8) Eccentric Spinster, both are coming from the synthetic surface of Golden Gate, a 20 percent training angle.

The field from the rail out:

1) La Force (Gallagher/Smith)
2) Turkish Tabby (Hollendorfer/Maragh)
3) Mended (Martin/Gonzalez)
4) Dalsaros (Gaines/Baze)
5) Mistressofthenight (Baltas/Desormeaux)
6) Majestic Heat (Mandella/Nakatani)
7) Bishop’s Pond (Servis/Espinoza)
8) Eccentric Spinster (Hollendorfer/Rosario)
9) Mopotism (O’Neill/Gutierrez)
10) Fault (D’Amato/Franco)

SELECTIONS: 1, 3, 9