3/12 (SA): Santa Margarita S. (G1); San Felipe (G2)
 

6th (3:05) Santa Margarita Invitational S. (G1)

1 1/8 Miles | Fillies and Mares | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $300,000

1 Party With Brando Blanc B 118 L
2 Always a Princess Garcia M 120 L
3 St Trinians (GB) Talamo J 118 L
4 Switch Rosario J 118 L
5 Vision in Gold Bejarano R 118 L
6 Miss Match (ARG) Gomez G K 118 L
7 Hemera Nakatani C S 118 L



8th (4:07) San Felipe S. (G2)

1 1/16 Miles | Open | 3 Year Olds Stakes | Purse: $250,000

1 Albergatti Gomez G K 118 L
2 Runflatout Rosario J 118 L
3 Surrey Star (IRE) Talamo J 118 L
4 Awesome Patriot Bejarano R 118 L
5 Comma to the Top Nakatani C S 123 L
6 Premier Pegasus Quinonez A 118 Blk-Off L
7 Bench Points Flores D R 118 L
8 Jakesam Valenzuela P A 118 L
9 Jaycito Garcia M 123 Blk-Off L
10 Quail Hill Pedroza M A 118 L

Happy to see Blind Luck get away from the Princess and that strip.

The San Felipe is stacked with speed....WOW!

Don't worry .... most of them probably won't use it.

They gonna save it for something else?

Probably an attempt at using it on the far turn for most.

If Jaycito can avoid blowing the turns he should be really tough here.

Mike Smith off should do the trick.

The guy replacing him isn't much help.

What trick is that? The make Chantal cry trick? Trollo

My premise is that none of those BC Juvenile shenanigans were Jaycito's doing.

Of course, with Mitchell in his corner at the time, you never know.

How about Mike Mitchell off then?

I think Jaycito is stabled only a few yards away from Setsuko.

He's an alchemist ... I'd feel very good about most 3yos going to Baffert .. but Mitchell to Baffert is a weird change of trainer.

I'm not a big jockey guy ... but if I'm training in So. Cal ... my preference of jock in a dirt route is as follows:

Front end speed or stalker:
Victor Espinoza
Bejarano

Mid-pack horse:
Rosario
Gomez
Espinoza

Closer:
Rosario

Why do you like Gomez on a mid pack horse and not on a closer?

Closing Sprinter Jock: Gomez is the best ever!

Fine. Add him as #2 for closer as well

The list of guys who can't help a horse is much longer.

I'm just glad Party With Brando was able to get an invitation to the Santa Margarita. I mean, she SO deserved it, and for a while I thought she might be left out of the party.

She made 23 starts in 2010 alone ... and came out firing with 3 starts in the month of Jan... she's a modern day Peat Moss type except she has no ability at all.

The "share a needle program" has finally come to barn 82. It's about time congrats

LOL. Didnt Abrams have one get an invitation to last years so they could get the race to fill? Im pretty sure she was scratched the day of the race.

So...probably going to be wide, make an early move, and get the sh!t beat out of him the entire stretch because of that early move. Is that what you forsee also?

That's pretty much Victor Espinoza's MO.

But with Victor - you've got someone who puts up mind-boggling ROI numbers year-in and year-out going back over a dozen years. Certainly, in route races, the most dangerous front-end and stalking rider of the last dozen years - basing that off of both stats and visual observations.

Garcia is a glorified sack of oats who has become greatly overrated. I wouldn't go quite as far to say that he is to Baffert what Jara was to Kiaran McLaughin - or he is to Baffert what Bridgmohan was to Asmussen ... but it's pretty damn close.

Or what David Cohen is to Mike Tannuzio?

That was an ugly breakdown.

Who broke down, who won?

Always A Princess broke down. . . Miss Match won at 46-1.

Wow, I was expecting you to say St. Trinians either won or brokedown.

They got her up and vanned her off. Baffert seemed to think she would be ok. Right at the finish line in front of everyone.

Holy shid man, what did they use on Premier Pegasus?

That was awesome.

It was nice, but that was a dream set up.

It was a dream set up for a number of runners in there. He crushed them all.

He came back from the race bouncing around with his neck bowed, like he was alysheba.

That was a pretty neat race.

I don't know why people dislike this trainer so much. He seems to get remarkable results with very limited numbers and stock.

And the jock? He just was interviewed by this really annoying British sounding chick, and it was just about the most impressive jockey interview I've ever seen.

He will have 2 Derby starters(Pre Peg and Riveting Reason)

DRF says fractured left sesamoid. She will be operated on tomorrow afternoon. End of race career, but they are optimistic to save her for breeding purposes.

I think his management of those good horses is what is called into question. While he's won a couple of big stakes here and there, the horses themselves have shown good potential only to fall by the wayside early in their careers. He often jumps the gun and puts horses in over their head, which arguably limits their overall performance in the long run (Nationalore the poster boy for this).

I don't know. Maybe.

Seems like every couple of years or so, he gets a modestly bred horse to do pretty well, and he's got a relatively small stable.

I remember one from about 15 years ago, I think it was by Video Ranger of all horses, that was in my eyes, a legit derby horse. He got hurt and died though, so maybe you are right.

That was a real good horse.

Nationalore was by Video Ranger and ran in the Derby 13 years ago. But he was a maiden.