Kanthaka Finds Class Relief in Santa Anita's San Carlos

Facing a horse good enough to win a Breeders' Cup race twice and earn back-to-back titles at the Eclipse Awards in your first start against older rivals is anything but an enviable task, yet for West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka, that journey went about as well as expected.

In his 4-year-old debut, the son of Jimmy Creed  finished second to 2017 and 2018 champion male sprinter Roy H, four lengths behind the two-time TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) winner in the Jan. 19 Palos Verdes Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

Yet in the process, Kanthaka finished 1 1/2 lengths ahead of another crack older sprinter, Conquest Tsunami, explaining the positive vibes among his connections heading into the $200,000 San Carlos Stakes (G2) March 30 at Santa Anita.

"We feel good going into this race," said West Point president and CEO Terry Finley. "He was just not good enough to run with Roy H."

Understanding how high the bar can be set when tackling Roy H, there's a strong case of class relief  for Kanthaka in facing six rivals in the San Carlos, none of whom own a Breeders' Cup win or an Eclipse Award or, for that matter, a grade 1 win.

"It's a good, solid field, but there are no superstars in there you would run away from," Finley said.

Bred by Spendthrift Farm and trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, Kanthaka has won three of eight starts and should appreciate the seven-furlong distance after facing Roy H at six furlongs last time out. All three wins by the $140,000 purchase from the 2017 Barretts Equine Limited March Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale came in seven-furlong races at Santa Anita, including last year in the San Vicente Stakes (G2) and Lazaro Barrera Stakes (G3).

Prior to the Palos Verdes, Kanthaka returned from a seven-month layoff after a minor injury and finished eighth in the Malibu Stakes (G1), but a rough trip in that comeback gives Finley the kind of confidence to consider races like the May 4 Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) in Louisville and the June 8 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park if the Kentucky-bred turns in a strong effort Saturday.

"He ran well in the Malibu, though the past performances may not show it," Finley said. "He got stopped cold at the three-eighths pole and then put in a good late run. We lost some time last year with a minor issue, but we're ready to rock and roll. We think we're going to have a very, very good year with him."

Heading the competition is a trio of starters from trainer Bob Baffert's barn. 

Hal and Patti Earnhardt's Ax Man finished 12th in the Malibu off a five-month layoff but rebounded to take a Feb. 8 optional-claiming allowance race at Santa Anita for the Hall of Fame trainer.

Baffert's trio also includes Natalie Baffert's Dr. Dorr, winner of the 2018 Californian Stakes (G2) who will be making his first start since Aug. 18, and Zayat Stables' Zatter, a winner of a March 3 optional claimer who is making his third start after a 15-month layoff. 

Roy H's trainer, Peter Miller, will send out Gary and Cecil Barber and Stanford Stable's Solid Wager, who returns to California after racing twice in New York and winning the Jan. 19 Toboggan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.