Palos Verdes Stakes Top Contenders

by Bodog Racebook | Jan 17 2011

Smiling Tiger made waves in 2010 with his multiple graded stakes victories; the 4-year-old son of Hold That Tiger captured the Gr. 3 Laz Barrera Stakes at Hollywood Park on May 22 and then the Gr. 1 Bing Crosby Stakes after a brief layoff on Aug. 1 at Del Mar. He also won the Gr. 1 Ancient Title Stakes at Hollywood Park on Oct. 9 on his way to the Breeders’ Cup, making him one of the frontrunners for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. However, a bobble at the start of the race became an obstacle he could not overcome, and the Kentucky-bred finished third; it was also his first race on dirt. Trained by Jeff Bonde, Smiling Tiger finished off his year in the dirt-run Gr. 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park and finished runner-up. The Palos Verdes Stakes will be his second try on this track; he has been training extremely well, turning in a 5 furlong breeze in 58.60 on Jan. 14. Smiling Tiger will be looking to add to his $767,864 in earnings and improve his 11-5-1-5 lifetime record.

Another nominee who tested out Santa Anita Park’s new dirt surface for the first time at the end of 2010 and finished runner-up is Amazombie. This 5-year-old gelding has a string of allowance optional claimers under his belt – winning three of five – and would be facing graded stakes competition for the first time. Other than in the Dec. 30 allowance race, Amazombie has raced on turf for most of 2010. The 6-furlong distance of the Palos Verdes Stakes is right up his alley; the son of Northern Afleet has won four races at that distance in his career. He has looked fairly comfortable in training on Santa Anita’s dirt track, posting a 5-furlong breeze on Jan. 16 in 1:02.20. Trained and co-owned by William Spawr, Amazombie has earned $198,708 from 14 starts and has a 5-3-2 record.

Also turning in a solid recent workout at Santa Anita Park is Ventana, a 5-year-old Bob Baffert trainee; the son of Toccet went 4 furlongs in 46:60 on Jan. 16. Last year’s runner-up in the Palos Verdes Stakes, Ventana’s best finish in 2010 was first place in the Gr. 2 Potrero Grande Handicap at Santa Anita Park – though over its synthetic Pro-Ride surface – on April 3. He did not fare as well in his final race of the year, coming in fourth in the Gr. 2 Churchill Downs Handicap on May 1 on the dirt track at Churchill Downs. Owned by Mike Pegram and Karl Watson, Ventana has earned a career $270,002 and is 3-4-2 from 15 starts.

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