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The 78th running of the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita Park today attracted a cast of 13 runners, but the historic event is all about Shared Belief. The four-year-old son of Lane’s End stallion Candy Ride (ARG), owned in part by sports talk radio host Jim Rome, is the clear class of the field. Barring anything unforeseen on the racetrack, the supremely talented runner will be standing in the winner’s circle at race’s end.
A winner in 9-of-10 career outings — his only defeat came in a trouble-laden renewal of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic — Shared Belief was flawless in his lone start this year, an impressive win over Horse of the Year California Chrome in the San Antonio Invitational at Santa Anita Feb. 7. Four of his nine victories have come in Grade 1 events, racing’s highest class, while bankrolling a whopping $2.3 million.Shared Belief will rightly be heavily favored in the race, possibly one of the heaviest favorites in the history of the Santa Anita Handicap, when he parades post-ward.
On paper, Shared Belief is a complete standout in just about every measurable way. He is versatile, not afraid of a fight and he adores the Santa Anita surface, having won three of four tries over the track. Another plus is that his jockey, Mike Smith, is gunning for history of his own. A win today would mark his third consecutive win in Santa Anita’s most famous race. Never before has a rider won three consecutive Big ‘Caps.
An interesting long shot worth taking a look at to complete the exacta is Florida-bred Sr. Quisqueyano. The five-year-old horse is a son of Journeyman Stud stallion Exclusive Quality and is fresh off a sharp victory in the Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Park in January. The hard-knocking campaigner has produced top efforts in his 29-start career en route to earnings of $713,560. To contend, the Looch Racing Stable colorbearer will have to repeat his last effort over a new racing strip, but his connections are confident the Florida shipper can get a piece of the lucrative $1 million purse.
Moreno, the most accomplished of Shared Belief’s rivals today, is a speedy sort and is likely to show the way early. The son of Adena Springs stallion Ghostzapper is winless in seven tries at Santa Anita, however, finishing second on three occasions. Bronzo (CHI) finished fourth behind Shared Belief in the San Antonio in just his third North American start. Some improvement from the son of Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus will put him in the picture at the finish.
There are never sure things in horse racing and there is a reason they don’t hand out the purse money before the race, but unless he encounters unforeseen trouble on the racetrack, Shared Belief is as close to a sure thing in the Santa Anita Handicap as you are likely to find.
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