El Potente Faces Toughest Task Yet in Kilroe Mile

Trainer Dan Blacker has sent nine runners to the starting gate this year and has visited the winner's circle six times, even all the way out in Saudi Arabia where his champion sprinter Straight No Chaser  took the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) Feb. 22.

He will aim to keep that hot start going March 1 as El Potente , responsible for two of those six wins, targets top-level success in the $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.

The Florida-bred son of Temple City   has made a steady climb up the ranks since joining the Blacker barn ahead of the 2023 season. In 10 starts for Blacker, he has won six times and never been off the board. On paper, that success can be attributed to a swap in surface to the grass, but Blacker places a lot of the credit on Santa Anita's new Tapeta training track.

"It's been a game changer for him, he's trained great over it," Blacker said of the surface that opened in early 2024. "I think that's helped him a lot maintain his soundness and form and really peak at this stage of his career."

Video: Thunder Road S. (G3T)

Typically found close to the pace, El Potente successfully aced his first graded test Feb. 1 while taking the Thunder Road Stakes (G3T) by three lengths for owner My Way Racing. Although his first grade 1 attempt will prove his toughest yet, Blacker is confident in the horse's win streak extending to three.

"I think he's going to be really tough," Blacker said. "I like our post, Hector (Berrios) is a great rider on the grass at Santa Anita, and I think the pace scenario is in our favor as well. I think he's got a really good chance."

Perhaps the most challenging of his seven rivals is Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr.'s Formidable Man , trained by Michael McCarthy. The lone grade 1 winner in the field, which he earned two starts back in the Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar, Formidable Man returns home to California after a disappointing trip to Florida.

Breaking from the inside, the son of City of Light   found himself the contested pacesetter of the Jan. 25 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T), ultimately fading in the stretch and finishing last of 12. Blinkers will be removed as the 4-year-old colt cuts back to a mile.

Rancho Temescal Thoroughbred Partners and Red Baron's Barn's Mi Hermano Ramon  faired much better in the 1 1/8-mile Pegasus. Stalking behind Formidable Man, he was outkicked in the later stages of the stretch but still finished a respectable fourth, beaten 2 1/4 lengths. Trained by Mark Glatt, the 5-year-old Creative Cause   gelding has hit the board in five of six starts over the Santa Anita turf.

Red White and Blue Racing's Neat  will be the lone new face to the California circuit, traveling west after spending his 3-year-old season racing mostly in Kentucky and New York. Typically a late runner, the son of Constitution   carries strong accolades with three graded victories. Based with trainer Rob Atras in Louisiana this winter, he acquires the riding services of Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots' leading jockey Jose Ortiz.