Rousing Sermon and Liaison expected to lock horns this time in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita
There couldn’t be a better time for, Rousing Sermon, to take his revenge on Liaison in the Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes after getting beaten by the Bob Baffert trained 3-year-old on two back to back occasions last year.
The Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes is restricted for 3-year-olds, and it will surely pop out some serious contenders for the Kentucky Derby in May.
The race is run over a distance of 1 1/16 miles on 10 March, 2012, at Santa Anita Park’s fast main dirt track, and the race has reeled in some serious 3-year-old talent including Creative Cause, Empire Way, the San Pedro Stakes winner Midnight Transfer,
and American Act, who is finally coming to his own after his powerful performance in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes in his last start, where he finished a close second.
The San Felipe Stakes is shaping up to be an extremely contentious prep race for the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby to be held at Santa Anita at about 1 1/8 miles on 7 April, 2012, and Rousing Sermon is on track with his preparations eyeing the big
race.
The 3-year-old Lucky Pulpit colt was the quickest of 22 over a distance of half mile. He turned in a bullet half mile work in 46 3/5 seconds over Hollywood Park’s cushion track on the morning of 4 March, 2012.
Trainer Eoin Harty reported that his 3-year-old colt, Out of Bounds, is off the Triple Crown track, and hence no San Felipe Stakes run for the possible favourite.
The other probable contenders for the San Felipe contains Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes’ runner-up Empire Way, who worked five furlongs in 1 minute and 1 second on 3 March ahead of the San Felipe Stakes.
Bob Baffert will be represented by another of his 3-year-old colt, the fast developing, Bodemeister, who turned some heads after his impressive maiden race on 11 February.
The Robert B. Lewis Stakes winner, I’ll Have Another, is going to skip the prep race and go straight for the Santa Anita Derby as he turned in an eye-catching six furlongs in 1 minute and 10.16 seconds.
The lineup for the San Felipe looks a good one, with Rousing Sermon turning in some serious works ahead of the race, and he will be eyeing his revenge on Liaison, who will be sent as the favourite to win the San Felipe Stakes.
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