Contention runs as deep as five horses in Saturday’s $750,000, Grade I race, the West Coast’s major Triple Crown prep
ARCADIA — The extraordinary success of tote-board favorites this season suggests horse-racing fans won’t have to look much beyond Imagination to find the winner of the 87th Santa Anita Derby.
Here’s a look at the eight horses scheduled to line up at the 1 1/8-mile starting point in front of the grandstand at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday• Imagination : His 96 Beyer speed figure for a March 3 victory in the San Felipe Stakes would rate fourth among Kentucky Derby contenders if Churchill Downs were allowing him and other Baffert horses to run. But the son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief has hardly been unbeatable.
• Mc Vay : Shirreffs’ three Santa Anita Derby victories came with 29-1, 6-1 and 2-1 shots. A fourth will require a big step forward from Mc Vay, still a maiden after a troubled but distant third place in the San Felipe. He’s a $1.25 million son of 2014 Florida Derby winner Constitution and has turned in fast workouts lately.• E J Won the Cup : O’Neill, like Shirreffs, can sneak up on the Santa Anita Derby. His two winners were 4-1 and 6-1 at post time.
The Santa Anita Derby is the 10th of 12 races Saturday and one of five stakes. Baffert-trained Kinza is a 4-5 morning-line favorite in the $300,000, Grade II Santa Anita Oaks, the sixth race, and it’s harder to envision her losing than to see Imagination upset.
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