Gift Box Scratched from Santa Anita Handicap

Gift Box, the morning-line favorite for the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) March 7 at Santa Anita Park, has been scratched from the $600,000 race, which he won last year. The scratch was the result of a "tweaked ankle," trainer John Sadler said.

With Gift Box out, jockey Joel Rosario will pick up the mount on stablemate Combatant. Umberto Rispoli had been initially scheduled to ride Combatant.

Both Gift Box and Combatant are trained by Sadler and owned by Hronis Racing. Those connections are bidding for an unprecedented three-peat in the historic race, which will have its 83rd running Saturday. Champion Accelerate  won the race for them in 2018 prior to Gift Box's victory last year.

"He tweaked his ankle a little bit, had a little bit of filling in it today," Sadler said of Gift Box. "We don't think it was a bad thing, but we don't think he was good to go today."

A 7-year-old son of Twirling Candy , Gift Box developed into one of the top handicap horses in California last year. Besides his win in the Santa Anita Handicap, he ran second in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes (G1) behind eventual Longines Breeder's Cup Classic (G1) winner and champion older dirt male Vino Rosso , fourth in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, and first in the Dec. 28 San Antonio Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita in his most recent start.

Track oddsmaker Jon White released a revised morning line for the Santa Anita Handicap following the scratch, which leaves Midcourt as a heavy favorite.

1 - Multiplier (20-1) 

2 - Two Thirty Five (6-1)

3 - Brown Storm (15-1)

4 - Gift Box (scratched)

5 - Midcourt (4-5)

6 - Combatant (10-1)

7 - Hofburg (4-1)

8 - Endorsed (4-1)