3/1 (SA): Big Cap & Kilroe (Gr. I's)
 

8th (3:30) Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. (G1)

1 Mile (Turf) | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $300,000

1 War Monger Desormeaux K J 116 L
2 Mr Napper Tandy (GB) Migliore R 114 L
3 Out of Control (BRZ) Baze M C 117 L
4 Artiste Royal (IRE) Bejarano R 118
5 Storm Military (ARG) Gomez G K 116 L
6 Willow O Wisp Espinoza V 114 L
7 Ever a Friend Baze T C 113 L



9th (4:00) Santa Anita H. (G1)

1 1/4 Miles (All Weather Track) | Open | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $1,000,000

1 Champs Elysees (GB) Dominguez R A 117 L
2 Tiago Smith M E 119 L
3 Big Booster Baze M C 115 L
4 Medici Code (GB) Pedroza M A 115 L
5 Awesome Gem Flores D R 117 L
6 Monterey Jazz Baze R A 119 L
7 Zappa Rosario J 114 L
8 Seminole Native Valdivia J Jr 113 L
9 Celtic Dreamin Solis A 115 L
10 Heatseeker (IRE) Bejarano R 116 L
11 Student Council Migliore R 117 L
12 Go Between Gomez G K 118 L
13 Great Hunter Espinoza V 115 L
14 Air Commander Gryder A T 116 L

6 dirt horses and 8 turf horses in the Big Cap

The Big Crap

What a congregate of heroes...might be the best Big Cap ever..

I've held off the "worst ____ ever" talk the last couple of years, but wow, that Big Cap field is pretty poor.

It is a very interesting race in and of itself

hard to get past the fact that we have lost one of the best Classic Distance thoroughbred dirt races on the west coast.
also upsetting to think about how this foreshadows the next two BC meetings.

If you bet SA the SA Hcp is for certain a great betting race. They'll probably handle over $15 million that day.

Somebody likes betting there.

we will see if war monger is the real deal

without the trip this time id make em 3-4th best..

i also like war monger.

as for the 'cap....who the hell knows?!

Big cap is going to be a great betting race

I have to agree on War Monger, i think he is the real deal as i've followed him since he got thru his madien at Bel i think. Im partial to War Chant horses esp on the T. You guys have any concerns about the T out there? Just seems like an odd course too me sometimes.I think its a pretty good move by trainer/owner as i "think" they think they have a horse that can be competitive in the BC races whichever one they choose to go after.

hes very good ...but..maybee not as good as some of these without the trip..he may be a very good one day ill try to beat em here ....

I don't think anything is very good in the Kilroe. War Monger would be a near cinch to have his coming out party were it not for the presence of Kent Desormeaux, who is capable of anything. In fact, did anyone else think it was ridiculous when Kent D. sent this same horse out to a near 5 length lead in the Jamaica last September in his stakes debut, when he had shown a monstrous turn of foot in a pair of come-from-behind victories leading up to that race?

Out of Control is OK, but tends to move a bit too soon which dramatically blunts his stretch punch. War Monger should eat him up late, especially with the layoff. Storm Military is suspect on class as he was decidedly flat in the solid San Gabriel field sandwiched between two good efforts in lesser company. Willow O Wisp can't win at Turf Paradise, pace factor only. Ariste Royale and Mr. Napper Tandy are outclassed bridesmaids. Ever A Friend has been training well but I'm not sure if a mile or graded company is his game.

Anticipating War Monger to be bet down heavily if he isn't ML favorite already.

he will be bet no doubt, he should have been beat last out by soldiers dancer.who went 15 wide..
the 4 artist royal goes with rafie and cuts way back..training very well the 5 storm military need only step up abit imo the 3 is going to be tough. out of controll is just faster than war at the 6f and the mile......

The Kilroe is a tough race to figure.. Some that look good are coming off of layoffs.. War Monger could be the real deal.. this will be his test. I'm leaning against War Monger at this point and leaning toward Out of Control.

I guess I can't handicap this race like in the olden days, when a 115-120 Beyer was a nice predictable par

I've read that the track is not nearly as kind to speed as it was when Monterrey Jazz won the Strub. However, the race pace scenario seems to make him an easy front runner. His ascendence of the last three races, turf and synth, coincided with the stretchout to routes. His Holly 6 furlong work was swift.

I'll tri key him over Medici Code(who won 3 in a row on synth in Great Britain and has worked well locally) and Go Between(2-2 on synth and a closing style).

Due to the large field and it being a great betting race, I can also exacta key Monterrey Jazz over the two mentioned

Also any of the 14 have a shot.....a real headbanger of a race!

Not true, Great Hunter is in the race.

Ah yes! I picked him to run third in the Derby :rolleyes:

Isn't it ridiculous that he's listed at 8-1 on the ML? He's horrendous.

Medici Code could pull of a nice upset here. He was training very well at Del Mar on the Polytrack and at one point was being considered for the Pacific Classic. The two conspicuous losses on conventional dirt should keep many away, and classwise, he fits here against a basically Grade 2 calibur field.

War Monger

Awesome Gem

chalk eater..lol

I guess I'll box Champs Elysees, Medici Code, Heatseeker, Go Between, and Tiago and see what happens.

I'm without a wager at SA except for the Big Cap. I'm going to toss Go Between form the underside of my Monterrey Jazz exotic keys, and focus on a larger $$$ amount on a box of Medici Code and Monterrey Jazz

John Shirreff's has been aiming for the Santa Anita Handicap with Tiago all winter. His two races this meet have been very good. He wasn't cranked up in his return race the San Fernando and the top two horses battled each other 1-2 around the track. In the Strub Stakes, the trainer wanted Mike Smith to have Tiago well off the pace for the first half-mile. The winner Monterey Jazz ran an insane race and one I can't imagine him replicating.Tiago is 6-1 and he might be between 4 and 6-1 when they go to post. He's a multiple Grade 1 winner on dirt. He's had three very good works since the Strub ending with a minute and three fifths breeze earlier this week. If he's good enough, and I believe he is compared to his competition, he'll run a good race and probably win the Big Cap.

War Monger is a good horse and he might be good enough to beat these horses. However he's shipping out west for the first time and while he's probably not facing a true Grade 1 field, these horses are better than the ones he has raced with thus far. War Monger is 8/5 morning line and he's a bet against as a heavy favorite. I think there will be enough pace here with Storm Military and Willow O Wisp that Out of Control will have a perfect setup to stalk, pounce and have enough to hold off the late close of War Monger. If Out Of Control is anywhere near the 4-1 m/l odds when they go to post he will be a good horse to wager on.

So instead of cheering at having a 14-horse field in a major race you grouse about the quality. Heads up, lads - 14-horse fields of the past contained questionable horses, too, who got real weight concessions (105 lbs vs 130 on the top-weight) to give them a shot. Not every SA Hcp winner has been one for the ages, either - do the names Azucar, Olhaverry, and Linmold ring any bells? Milwaukee Brew, who won this one twice (the first such dual winner who didn't have help from the stewards' room), didn't look like much, either, until he got to run 10f.

If you have a star, or two or three, you get a small field. If you don't have a star, you get a big field and an interesting betting contest. Be thankful for what you have, and shed a tear for the grand old Gulfstream Park H, once a 10f test of champions, like Round Table, Coaltown, Armed, Kelso, Pretense, Forego, etc., now merely a shadow of its former self.

I'm looking for Heatseeker to bring it home today.

I love that the race has 14 instead of 6 horses.

Monterey Jazz should have an uncontested lead.
Not really sure where Medici Code will be - would have to be a different animal to contend. Euro All-weather record a plus?
It's probably the 20-1 M/L but I like Celtic Dreamin. Shouldn't have to pass everyone to get there. If you like Go Between you have to include him.

Hearing that Tiago has been pointed to this one ...Nice horse just can't bet all of them.

Student Council has an excuse as well

Champs Elysees - Frankel is 21% going from turf to All-weather

Monterey Jazz would have to quit on his own. Everyone else is running for place.

barring race time insights the bet is

6 w/ 1, 9, 12 w/ 1, 2, 5, 9, 12 w/ 1, 4, 5, 9, 11, 12
what is that like $20 for a dime :o

I'm ready for Medici Code to end up the wiseguy horse in here because of the back synthetic form and a couple of quick works. The thing about this guy is that I can't see how you'd be making a good investment at less than 8-1.

This race is inscrutable and if pressured I'd say I'll throw a few bucks at Go Between.

Good luck all!

NT

They could take 14 horses from the $10k claiming ranks and give us a 14-horse field. What does that mean? Be thankful? Are u serious? If we can't expect our best races to have our best horses anymore, what is there to look forward to?

It's all about watching how the track plays and then finding value from the group of horses that can win with that bias and eliminating the ones that can not. Think of it like handicapping a yeilding or worse turf race. You can't use Monterey Jazz or Air Commander unless speed horses earlier in the card show the way.

Death

the track is fair, any style can win this race today.

Out of Control

Tiago