Strong Field Set for Mathis Brothers Mile

After a rare loss last time out, California-bred Red Outlaw will try to get back to his winning ways in the $200,000 Mathis Brothers Mile (gr. IIT) Dec. 26, opening day at Santa Anita Park.

          

The one-mile turf test for 3-year-olds, previously run as the Sir Beaufort Stakes, is carded as the seventh on the nine-race card with an approximate post time of 3 p.m. PST. There were 14 entrants in the race, which is sponsored by a furniture company, with 12 to start.

 

A son of Tribal Rule, Red Outlaw won his first five starts this year, including four stakes, before finishing fourth in the restricted Cary Grant Stakes Nov. 23 at Del Mar. Friday's race will be his graded stakes debut for Peter Miller, who trains him for a partnership that includes Blinkers On Racing Stable. 

 

Red Outlaw will have to bring his "A" game as the race attracted a competitive field that includes Heart to Heart. The shipper comes in with three straight stakes victories, anchored by grade III triumphs in the Commonwealth Turf Nov. 15 last time out and the Jefferson Cup Sept. 27, both at Churchill Downs. 

 

Terry Hamilton's son of English Channel  , winner of four of seven starts this season, makes his first West Coast start for trainer Brian Lynch.

Cal-bred turf specialist Awesome Return seeks his second straight stakes win on grass.

 

"He never runs a bad race; he always show up," trainer Mike Puype said of the son of Decarchy   owned by Richard Kritzski. "This is a tougher race than he's seen, but we've got to go because this leads up to the California Cup Turf Classic (Jan. 24).

         

"That race offers $250,000 and is a mile and an eighth, which is going to suit him better going against Cal-breds, but this is an important steppingstone."

          

Awesome Return has not been out of the money on turf in seven starts, winning four with one second and two thirds. Three of the victories have come in stakes, including the Snow Chief at Santa Anita and the Silky Sullivan at Golden Gate Fields, both against state-breds in back-to-back starts earlier this year. He enters off a win in the Let It Ride Stakes going a mile on the Del Mar turf Nov. 8

 

Alert Bay and Tonito M., the respective winner and runner-up in the Zia Park Derby Nov. 26, also are entered. 

 

A City Zip   gelding, Alert Bay was second in the Silky Sullivan and third in the Snow Chief before blazing to a track record for 1 1/16 miles in winning at Zia Park by three lengths from favored Oklahoma Derby (gr. III) winner Tonito M., a son of Rock Hard Ten.

 

Other competitors include narrow Eddie D. Stakes (gr. IIIT) winner Home Run Kitten, Twilight Derby (gr. IIT) winner Long On Value and runner-up Sawyer's Hill, who was most recently fourth in the Hollywood Derby (gr. IT) Nov. 29, and French-bred Talco, third in both the Hollywood Derby and  Del Mar Derby.

 

Cool Samurai and Play Hard to Get are on the also-eligible list.