For the 18th time this season, no one was able to correctly tab six
winners in Santa Anita’s popular Pick Six, resulting in a carryover into
Saturday of $59,436 and the likelihood of a total pool of more than
$500,000.
Santa Anita offers a 10-race card on Saturday and the Pick Six
will cover races five through 10. The Grade II, $300,000 San Felipe
stakes headlines what shapes up as an outstanding program.
Favoritism in the San Felipe, one of the most important
steppingstones on both the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derby trails, could
go to either Creative Cause, who is the 5-2 morning line favorite or
Bodemeister, who has been installed by line maker Jon White as the
second choice at 3-1.
A field of 10 3-year-olds have signed up for the 1 1/16 miles
San Felipe and there appears to be plenty of early speed in the race
with Bodemeister, American Act (8-1) and Midnight Transfer (6-1)
figuring prominently in the early going.
Should a fast pace develop, it could be to Creative Cause’s
benefit. A winner of the Grade I Norfolk Stakes on Oct. 1, he was third
in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs and
was most recently third in the seven furlong Grade II San Vicente on
Feb. 19. His style suggests that he will likely stalk the early
pacesetters.
Full fields are the order of the day in the Pick Six and with 59
horses entered, players will have an average field size of just under
10 horses per race to deal with.