The Lead:
Weekday rains pushed back opening day at Santa Anita to Sunday, but the traditional slate of stakes races that welcomes action back to The Great Place remains. Six important stakes emblaze the marquee, headed by the Grade 1 American Oaks, Grade 1 Malibu and Grade 1 La Brea. I'll focus on the Race 8 La Brea over 7 furlongs with a deep field of 11 sophomore fillies.

Horseplayers at 1/ST BET and Xpressbet be sure to take part in the $10,000 Exacta-Thon promotion, and don't forget the Sunday return of the Coast-to-Coast Pick 5 and Sunset Pick 6 wagers with Santa Anita's sister track Gulfstream Park. Also note Santa Anita has added Monday racing on December 29 to replace 1 of the missed programs for opening weekend.

​​Field Depth:
Grade 2 winner FIVE G has the top victory in the lineup. LIsted stakes winners SO THERE SHE WAS, SIMPLY JOKING and SILENT LAW are also either Grade 1 or Grade 2-placed. SIMPLY JOKING arguably has kept the strongest company lines, but this field has just the 1 graded stakes winner and therefore is ripe to be taken on a class rise by a sharp filly.
​
Pace:
SILENT LAW is the most committed front-runner in the field and will pop from the outside if she runs to form. Stablemates USHA and BRILLIANTLY won't be far off of it, nor will MAGNIFICAT, FORMULA ROSSA, ARTISMA and FIVE G. The pace should be strong.

Our Eyes:
Here are my horse-by-horse notes.

#1-SIMPLY JOKING: Midwestern transplant has made a new home in Michael McCarthy's Santa Anita barn. She was second-best to elder star mare Hope Rode at Del Mar at a mile last out. The cutback in distance and hot pace could serve her well under Kazushi Kimura, who won this race last year aboard Kopion.

#2-SO THERE SHE WAS: Remington Park Oaks winner followed that with a fourth-place finish in the Mother Goose at Aqueduct. She returns home and to the sprint ranks for the first time since summer. A bullet workout Dec. 10 from the gate hasn't been followed up in the morning, so it's fair to question if the Doug O'Neill trainee did a little to much that morning.

#3-FIVE G: Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks winner hasn't run since March and returns in a difficult spot on the road for Florida-based trainer George Weaver. She won the 1-turn mile Cash Run at Gulfstream, but has primarily routed with much success. Irad Ortiz Jr. has the mount. Watched her workout at 1st.tv and thought it was so-so for the comeback with only 1 timed drill in a month.

#4-ARTISMA: Blinkers go on this Richard Baltas trainee as she exits a trio of allowance runner-up finishes. Second-itis has been the diagnosis 5 times in 6 starts this year. Fits fairly well with several of these based on her allowance performance November 16 at Del Mar and has been working well since.

#5-USHA (pictured): First of 3 Bob Baffert trainees in the gate as he aims for a record-padding 10th win in the La Brea and third straight. Tiz the Law filly disappointed in the maiden ranks with several short-priced losses, then turned it on at Del Mar this summer before a befuddling fold in the Raven Run at Keeneland. Juan Hernandez won this race in 2022 and 2024 and was aboard for her Del Mar scores. Looked good in December 20 workout video cutting the corner. Capable, but not trustworthy at a shorter price.

#6-BRILLIANTLY: What his Bob Baffert trainee lacks in experience, she makes up for in potential off of her December 15 workout over the track. She literally toyed with elder Grade 1-winning colt Nevada Beach that morning and could be rounding into a freakish effort in just her fourth start and first in a stakes. That Flavien Prat takes the mount speaks volumes. The form may not show it, but she's my horse to beat. When Baffert horses train like this, you don't shop elswhere.

#7-SCHILFLIED: 13-start veteran of the field has been racing on turf each time and is bred for the grass. Paddy Gallagher takes a dirt fling here and has Tyler Baze aboard at what will be big odds after 36-1 and 49-1 dull efforts turf sprinting.

#8-HER LAUGH: Trainer Riley Mott brings this Kentucky filly from her Florida winter base in a second-off-the-layoff form cycle. She was off March to November when returning for a decent second in the allowance ranks at Churchill Downs. She won Tampa Bay Downs' Untapable Stakes routing on the front end, but projects more of a midpack to closer in this spot under Jose Ortiz. Regular rider Irad Ortiz Jr. hops seats to Five G on Sunday.

#9-FORMULA ROSSA: Veteran jockey Mike Smith looks for a record-setting sixth La Brea Stakes score when he partners with this Mark Glatt trainee. The Vekoma filly ran a sharp second to the elder sprint star Sweet Azteca in the Rancho Bernardo at Del Mar in August and comes off the layoff. She's fired big fresh in the past and is dangerous here despite just 3 career starts, but has been asked for some run in her morning drills.

#10-MAGNIFICAT: Trainer Richard Mandella hopes to follow up Kopion's La Brea win last year with this lightly raced daughter of his star Omaha Beach. She's won 2 of 3, both in photos and has yet to taste defeat on dirt. She won a Nov. 16 allowance against Artisma and Brilliantly, who return in the La Brea as well.

#11-SILENT LAW: Tiz the Law filly is the final of 3 Baffert trainees in the La Brea field and she's got 1 way to go -- to the front. Juan Hernandez jumps to ride stablemate Usha, leaving the mount to Joel Rosario. I thought she got out-worked recently and it's odd to see a quality horse have 3 straight gate workouts. She's run against tome top elders like Tamara, but I'm not certain she's flourishing right now.

Most Likely Exotics Contender:
BRILLIANTLY has my undivided attention.

Best Longshot Contender:
MAGNIFICAT has hard-to-knock form and her BRIS Late Pace Figures are admirable to garner a share. You could do worse at 20-1 morning line.

Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$90 win BRILLIANTLY. $5 trifecta key BRILLIANTLY over MAGNIFICAT and USHA ($10).