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Post-Race Review Big favorite Soldier’s Dancer sat back last through much of the 1 1/8 mile Sunshine Millions Turf, but rallied strongly off the backstretch and thundered past horses to score by a 1/2 length on the wire. A gray gelding by Lost Soldier, Soldier’s Dancer finished second in the same race one year ago, and boosted his record to ten wins in twenty-eight starts.
Presious Passion finished a narrow second, while 50 – 1 shot Unusual Suspect, who was 10 – 1 on the morning line, finished third. The second choice in the wagering, Lucky J.H., finished an uncharacteristic twelfth.
Soldier’s Dancer was ridden to victory by Rafael Bejarano, and paid $4.80 for the win, topping a $586.00 trifecta.
Pre-Race Analysis Saturday is Sunshine Millions Day at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park, an annual celebration of Florida and California-bred horses. Four races are run at each track for a total of eight races, and this year’s Sunshine Millions Turf, a $500,000 race, will kick off the series at Santa Anita. Fourteen horses are entered to compete in the 1 1/8 mile race, which has seen stars such as Lava Man take past runnings. This year, Florida-breds Soldier’s Dancer and Icy Atlantic highlight the packed field. Morning line favorite Soldier’s Dancer, second in this race last year, boasts a record of nine wins and twenty on-the-board finishes in twenty-seven starts, and is just shy of $1 million in earnings. The Lost Soldier gelding won two stakes races in a row last fall, including a grade three race at Calder, and finished second by a nose last out on December 6th, a race that earned a 99 for Endurance, one of Soldier’s Dancer’s specialties, as he has also earned a 106 in that area four starts ago.
Icy Atlantic is best known as the rabbit for English Channel back when his revered stablemate was tearing up the turf, but now the eight-year-old Todd Pletcher-trainee is winning his own races, with twenty-two top three finishes in forty five starts. Icy Atlantic is even closer to $1 million in earnings than Soldier’s Dancer, and won a stakes race at Calder on November 8th.
Lucky J.H. is the best regarded of the California-breds, as the seven-year-old Cee’s Tizzy horse has taken two stakes races in a row and has eight wins in eighteen starts. The hard-trying horse does his best running at sprint distances, but finished third in this race last year. Trained by Carla Gaines, Lucky J.H. scored a 102 for Aerobic Efficiency two starts back going 6 1/2 furlongs.
Unusual Suspect, Epic Power, and Mr. Chairman round out the best from California. Unusual Suspect dances every dance and won going 1 1/16 miles at Golden Gate on December 26th. The five-year-old Unusual Heat horse was given a 100 for Stride Quality when 9th in a hotly contested Hollywood Park allowance. Mr. Chairman, winner of last year’s California Cup Classic, hasn’t won since but continues to run some of the best CASE numbers in the field each time out. He still has the highest Aerobic Efficiency rating in the field at 109, and last out received a 90 for the same category. However, it’s Epic Power who has the strongest numbers in his last race, as the Jack Carava-trained gelding took an $80,000 claiming race at a mile on the grass last out, earning a 105 for Aerobic Efficiency, a 91 for Endurance, and has a 90.8 average.
Presious Passion, at 8 – 1 morning line, could be a surprise from Florida, with a 96 for Endurance last out when winning a 1 1/2 mile stakes race at Calder. The Royal Anthem gelding prefers the longer distances, but that is the charm of the 1 1/8 miles of this race: it is a middle ground for horses who prefer to run short and long. ------------------------------ Emily Shields s a regular contributor to Case the Race. She has written for California Thoroughbred, Churchill Downs media, and international racing magazines. |