The extended five-day racing week at Santa Anita Park concludes this afternoon with a special holiday card that kicks off at 3:30 pm ET / 12:30 pm PT. The card is led by the $100,000 Astra. The 1 1/2-miles event over the grass drew a compact group with Augustin Stables’ Mrs. Astor listed as a prohibitive 4-5-ML favorite. I am not in love with Mrs. Astor’s likely off odds, but also expect her to win the race, so I will likely bypass that event and focus instead on these few horses.

Race 1:

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day opener is a state-bred MSW event for fillies and mares at one-mile over the turf where the three ML favorites all exit a similar spot at Del Mar on November 14. In that two-turn affair in San Diego County, it was 8-5-ML favorite #3 Coyote Cafe finding a good spot early after breaking well, but struggling to finish with serious energy. Meanwhile, #4 Training Good continued to progress steadily for trainer Antonio Garcia with her solid late finish good enough to earn second at odds of 41-1. We are not going to get anything close to that price on this I’ll Have Another filly this afternoon, but it should be graduation day for her with an off the pace trip under jockey Armando Ayuso.

Play: #4 Training Good (2-1 ML)


Race 3:

I am against 8-5-ML favorite #5 Video Review in this $50,000 maiden claimer at 6-furlongs over the turf. The son of Nyquist has had his chances, including last out in his first start off the claim for trainer John Sadler when he was bet down to 1-5-favoritism, yet was no match for 36-1-long shot Mutt Dillin who came into the race 0 for 9. Sadler has given Video Review some time to freshen up after the disappointing performance, but regardless I expect to be an underlay once again. I much prefer second choice #2 Arctic Power. The 4YO gelding cuts back to 1-turn for trainer Phil D’Amato after facing better going a route of ground twice to end his 2025 campaign. D’Amato has heated up at the Great Race Place over the last 14 days winning with 5 of 28 for a strong $2.92 ROI. The son of Tamayuz should be rolling late under jockey Umberto Rispoli.

Play: #2 Arctic Power (9-5 ML)


Race 9:

There is no doubt the finale goes through 9-5-ML favorite #5 Ventry Strand. The late running son of Bolt d’Oro has a kick that should be able to out finish this group, but there are two concerns. Firstly, his last effort was a bit flat where once again he not only displayed a lack of early speed, but also failed to do any serious running late. Plus, trainer John Sadler comes into the holiday card just 2 for 25 to start the Classic Meet, so I will try to get the jump on him with first-time turfer #3 Marcos Performance. Trainer Peter Miller claimed the son of Cistron for $25k last November and added the blinkers after one start without the shades. They certainly seemed to make the gelding faster in his upset victory against open company first-level allowance foes over the dirt. It is always a major question how a runner will respond to moving from dirt-to-turf and there is not a ton of pedigree to give me a ton of confidence, so I will need at least 3-1 to gamble. That said, he should be in a good forward spot early under Ricky Gonzalez, so he has a big shot, if he takes to the course.

Play: #3 Marcos Performance (3-1 ML)