After a busy Breeders’ Cup Friday (complete with two live streams and a radio show!), we’re back for more on Saturday at Santa Anita. I’m taking stands against a number of horses I feel are beatable favorites, and here’s hoping a few of them pay off!

Dirt Mile

Well, we’ll start with the least popular stand I can take: I think #3 CODY’S WISH (9/5) is beatable. If this was a one-turn mile, he’d be a near-cinch. His two-turn form, though, is just “very good.” I can’t bet “very good” at odds-on in a Breeders’ Cup race.

My stands against will include #4 ZOZOS (6-1) and #9 NATIONAL TREASURE (8-1). The former has won four of his last five starts for trainer Brad Cox, who doesn’t see his horses fall out of form in big spots very often. The latter, of course, is your Grade 1 Preakness Stakes winner, and while his recent efforts have been disappointing, his workouts hint that he’s sitting on a big effort. Add in that both of those horses should be on or near the lead in a race without any other formidable pace factors signed on, and I think the time is right to take a swing.

If I’m wrong, I’ll tip my hat, appreciate the finish to a phenomenal story, and start wondering if Cody’s Wish is a Hall of Famer. From a betting standpoint, though, I just cannot endorse him at a prohibitive price.

Filly and Mare Turf

The sheer amount of back class possessed by #6 INSPIRAL (5/2) is impossible to ignore. She’s run in nothing but Group 1 races for more than two years, she’s won five of them, and her Timeform numbers are very, very strong. I think she’s going to be a very tough favorite and I won’t take too strong a stand against her.

If you’re looking for a bigger price, I’ve got two to consider. #3 WITH THE MOONLIGHT (20-1) hasn’t done much wrong in her five North American starts, where she’s yet to finish out of the top two. She may have needed the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine, where she also might’ve moved too early in her first start since May. Add in that you’re getting Charles Appleby and William Buick at a bonkers price, and there’s stuff to like.

#9 DIDIA (8-1), meanwhile, has won five of six North American races and is 3-for-4 with a second at this 1 1/4-mile distance. She draws well and has enough tactical speed to allow for plenty of options in the early going.

Filly and Mare Sprint

I think the post position draw did #1 GOODNIGHT OLIVE (6/5) no favors. The rail isn’t where she wants to be, especially in a race with so much early speed to her outside. She obviously has lots of ability, but I think she’s a very beatable favorite.

#7 SOCIETY (5/2) hits me as the one to beat. She seems like the speed of the speed, she’s in outstanding form, and she boasts the Steve Asmussen work tab I really like. When I see a two-back work that’s very fast, followed by an easy maintenance move, that’s often a sign the horse in question is ready to fire a big shot.

The other one I’m intrigued by is a big price. #5 KIRSTENBOSCH (10-1) won the local prep for this race and could benefit from a pace meltdown. She was solid going two turns, but seems to have found her niche in sprint races, and I think she could come rolling late at a large number.

Mile

Japan looks very tough in here, as #10 SONGLINE (5/2) is a logical favorite. She’s run a number of very fast races in her home country, and anything close to any of the last three races she’s run will make her very tough to top.

I’ll have two logical horses and one price underneath. #3 CASA CREED (8-1) is going to get plenty of support off of two wins in New York, and #11 KELINA (6-1) does her best running over the firm ground she’ll get at Santa Anita. My bigger-priced “B horse,” so to speak, is #8 DU JOUR (15-1), who retains the services of Flavien Prat and sure seems to be in career-best form late in his 5-year-old season.

Distaff

This race took a significant hit for me when #3 PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS (8-1) scratched. She was my best bet of the day and hit me as an absolute gift at that price, given the abundance of early speed signed on and the talent she’s shown in some very big spots.

With her out, I’ll press on. #9 CLAIRIERE (4-1) seems like the most logical closer in the group. That Asmussen work pattern comes up here, and I’m more than willing to toss her last-out clunker in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign. Anything close to her early-2023 form would give her a big shot, especially given the likely race shape, and I think she’s the most likely winner.

#7 WET PAINT (10-1) doesn’t seem fast enough on figures, but she should definitely benefit from the likely battle up front, and as such, I can’t ignore her. Of the ones with speed, the one that intrigues me the most if #6 SEARCH RESULTS (5-1). I think she’ll be the most likely one to have the lead turning for home. The question is, how much will she have left when the closers start making up ground?

Turf

Europe has sent some big guns over for this one. #5 AUGUSTE RODIN (3-1) will look to continue one of the classiest campaigns by a European runner this season. He’s won multiple high-prestige Group 1 races, including a few at this 1 1/2-mile distance, and we know Aidan O’Brien can get a horse ready to run here.

My other “A horse,” though, comes not from Europe, but from Japan. #1 SHAHRYAR (15-1) has back races that make him very competitive against this group. I think his last race is a throwout, as he had a medical procedure done after that dud. If we see the Shahryar that ran in 2022, he’ll have every chance to win at a big price.

#9 MOSTAHDEF (5/2) and #11 KING OF STEEL (4-1) aren’t totally illogical, and I won’t be stunned if either runner wins. However, the former has legitimate distance questions and may be best going a bit shorter, and the latter has chased Auguste Rodin three different times.

Classic

With Pretty Mischievous out of the Distaff, my best bet resides here, and it’s #8 USHBA TESORO (4-1). If he repeats the race he ran to win the Grade 1 Dubai World Cup, I simply don’t think any other horse in this field is capable of beating him.

I wish we were getting a bigger price, and for a time, it seemed we would. However, with Arcangelo, Geaux Rocket Ride, and Mage not lining up for the race, what I thought would be an 8-1 shot is now probably the 4-1 second choice. Still, I think he’s a force to be reckoned with.

Turf Sprint

This is a chaotic race with several world-class speedsters signed on. I can see #3 CARAVEL (5-1), #5 LIVE IN THE DREAM (9/2), and #7 NOBALS (6-1) all going early, and all three of those runners are talented enough to be hanging around at the end.

I can see all three of those potentially winning this, but the one I’m truly intrigued by is #9 ROSES FOR DEBRA (12-1). She won four in a row before catching a boggy turf course at Parx last time out, and I’m more than willing to draw a line through that race. Roses for Debra has enough speed to be close early, but she won’t be intimidated if she has to sit a stalking trip. Such a trip, in fact, could be to her benefit if the leaders start running out of gas turning for home. 

Sprint

We’ll finish things off with another spot where I’m against the favorite, albeit mildly. I can see #8 ELITE POWER (9/5) winning this race, and I’ll have him as a “B horse” on a few tickets. However, two others intrigue me more.

#7 SPEED BOAT BEACH (3-1) is my top pick. He came off a very long layoff in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Sprint Championship and did everything but win that race, where he fell short by a head to Dr. Schivel. When Speed Boat Beach is right, he’s got a world of talent. He’s been training very well, and I think he’s sitting on a career-best effort.

The other one I’ll lean on is #9 GUNITE (4-1), who cuts back to his preferred trip and always seems to fire. He beat Elite Power on the square two back in the Grade 1 Forego and draws a favorable outside post, one that should give jockey Tyler Gaffalione plenty of options.