Imperative Looks to End Losing Streak in San Antonio
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Imperative has a good shot to return to the winner's circle for the first time since the 2014 Charles Town Classic. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
In the 2015 edition of the $500,000 San Antonio Invitational Stakes, 2014 Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome was defeated by champion Shared Belief. Although California Chrome has set his sights on the Dubai World Cup and won't be running in this year's San Antonio, his presence will still be felt as four of the eight entrants finished behind him last month in the San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita. Imperative finished second in that race and makes his third start off a layoff so may be the one to beat while Hoppertunity (who finished third in last year's San Antonio) was another length behind Imperative in third. Hard Aces was an uncompetitive fourth and lost for the fourth straight time in the San Pasqual since winning the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita last May. Blingo was fifth in the San Pasqual and like Hard Aces suffered his fourth loss in a row, his last victory coming in the 2014 San Antonio. New faces Cat Burglar and Cyrus Alexander just finished first and second, respectively, in a fast race over the track and are in better form than many of the eight entrants. Donworth hasn't been seen since winning the Stanton Stakes last June so attempting to win a graded stakes at a mile and one-eighth off a lengthy layoff could be quite an undertaking. El Kabeir won the City of Laurel Stakes in November before a fourth place finish behind 2015 Eclipse Award winner Runhappy.
Imperative may not have seen the winner's circle since his victory in the April 2014 Charles Town Classic but things are a lot different coming into the San Antonio than they were for most of those other races. Coming back from two month on the bench at the end of November and taking blinkers off for the first time in 22 months, Imperative finished second to Dortmund in the Native Diver Stakes then six weeks later closed nicely for second while no threat to California Chrome in the San Pasqual Stakes. In the 2014 Charles Town Classic, Imperative earned a career best 119 Equibase Speed Figure, which he duplicated when second in that same race last year. Having earned a 103 figure in the Native Diver and improving to 108 in the San Pasqual, it appears Imperative's form is on the upswing once again and that makes him the one to beat in the San Antonio Stakes.
Cyrus Alexander is a half-brother to 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and may be ready to start earning back a good portion of the $1.7-million he cost at auction as a yearling in 2013. After losing the first four starts of his career (though second or third in three of those), Cyrus Alexander won two of his next three races, both at Santa Anita. Following that, Cyrus Alexander tried stakes company for the first time and finished fourth then tried turf for the first time and that was an abject failure as he finished ninth. Given time off from July to December, Cyrus Alexander returned in December to win nicely before a career best 110 figure when second to Cat Burglar at Santa Anita last month. Showing good versatility when rallying for the win two starts back then battling head-and-head for the lead for the last half-mile in his most recent race, Cyrus Alexander has shown maturity and tenacity not shown previously and it would not be hard for me to imagine him posting the upset in this race.
Cat Burglar was returning from nearly five months rest in that highly rated race last month, earning the same 111 as Cyrus Alexander when victorious by a neck. He actually ran faster much earlier in his career when winning at Santa Anita in April 2014 and then third in the 2014 Pimlico Special, earning 116 figures in both efforts. Seven losses came between the win in April of 2014 and the win last month. Now that he has turned a corner in form, Cat Burglar could win again, particularly in a field in which most of the other runners are off form (El Kabeir), bring long losing streaks into the race (Hard Aces, Blingo), are attempting to run at this level off a long layoff without a prep race (Donworth) or just don't seem to want to win (Hoppertunity),
The rest of the San Antonio field, with their best representative Equibase Speed Figures, is Blingo (110), Donworth (105), El Kabeir (107), Hard Aces (101) and Hoppertunity (113).
My Selections:
Imperative
Cyrus Alexander
Cat Burglar
$500,000 San Antonio Stakes
Saturday, Race 7, Santa Anita, 6:30 p.m. ET
1 1/8 miles, dirt, 4-year-olds and upwards
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
M/L
1
Cat Burglar
Rafael Bejarano
Bob Baffert
Michael Lund Peterson
-
2
Donworth
Mario Gutierrez
Doug O'Neill
Reddam Racing
-
3
Cyrus Alexander
Martin Garcia
Jerry Hollendorfer
Spendthrift Farm and Stonestreet
-
4
Hard Aces
Joseph Talamo
John Sadler
Hronis Racing
-
5
Hoppertunity
Flavien Prat
Bob Baffert
Pegram, Watson and Weitman
-
6
Blingo
Alex Solis
John Shirreffs
Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss
-
7
Imperative
Mike Smith
Richard Baltas
KM Racing Enterprise
-
8
El Kabeir
Gary Stevens
John Terranova
Zayat Stables
-