This race, in case you didn't know, was for many, many years the traditional opening day stakes at Santa Anita on Boxing Day. It was part of the progression to get horses fit for the Big 'Cap - Palos Verde (6f), San Carlos (7f), San Pasquale H (8.5f), San Antonio S (9f) - spaced out at 3 weeks or so. The Aussies still use this sort of preparation for the Melbourne Cup - the 1000m races start in August and the races get progressively longer until the first Tuesday in November. And yes, those stayers run in and often run well in sprint races; Makybe Diva won a 1400m (7f) prep race one year on the way to her Cup victory.
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01-22-2010, 04:56 PM
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