2014 Zenyatta Stakes G1 FREE Picks

The 2014 Zenyatta Stakes (G1)

Santa Anita

Date: Sept. 27, 2014 Post Time: 5:30 PM (ET) Distance: 1 1/16 mile (dirt) Purse: $300,000

For fillies and Mares three-years-old and upward.

Official Contenders & Post Positions

PP – Contender	Jockey	Trainer	Odds
1 – Tiz Midnight	Victor Espinoza	Bob Baffert	8-1
2 – Iotapa	Joe Talamo	John Sadler	2-1
3 – Yahilwa	Rafael Bejarano	James Cassidy	10-1
4 – Beholder	Mike Smith	Rich Mandella	1-2
5 – Wittgenstein	Mario Gutierrez	Doug O’Neill	30-1
~~6 – Tiz the Key~~	~~Tyler Baze~~	~~Richard Mandella~~	~~12-1~~

The Maiden’s Take

The Queen

1) Beholder – Last year’s Zenyatta Stakes victress returns with Mike Smith in the irons filling in for Gary Stevens. This 4-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes has won two Breeders’ Cup titles and two Eclipse Awards in her fourteen career starts. Her most recent start was on June 7th at Belmont, where she finished fourth in the Ogden Phipps G1, in top company. A bit of a set back, but the good news is this girl loves the track at Santa Anita. The Richard Mandella-trained filly has a tactical running style and a 108 Beyer. If she’s not setting the pace, she’ll certainly be stalking it.

The Nobles:

1) Iotapa – With a 109 Beyer, John Sadler’s entry is another filly that favors setting the pace, but can also run patiently right behind. Despite a not so smooth start in the Vanity Stakes G1, three months ago, Iotapa ran a valiant 1 1/8 mile wire-to-wire and finished 10¼ lengths ahead of the field. No doubt, She’s got the speed and risk taker Joe Talamo will be back for his third consecutive ride. Back in February, in the Santa Maria G2, Iotapa lead another wire-to-wire and stopped the clock at 1:42¹. When compared to Beholder, her fractional times at Saturday’s distance on a fast track are slower in the middle but faster at the start and right at the end. This daughter of Afleet Alex won’t return very much alone, but be sure to use her in your exotic bets. She appears to be the strongest one to take on our queen.

2) Tiz Midnight – Bob Baffert’s 4-year-old filly makes her graded stakes debut in the Zenyatta, and while I would normally rank this grand-daughter of Tiznow a peasant for her lack of experience, her 11 ¼ length romp in her 1 1/16 mile MSW at Santa Anita, back in June, was quite impressive. She’s won her last three starts as a front runner and has a competitive 102 Beyer to position herself in close quarters to Iotapa and Beholder. However, her winning time at this distance on a fast track is still one second too slow and her fractional times nearing the wire drop significantly for this field. Surely, Victor Espinoza seems to fit her like a glove. Not a bad pair to wager on.

The Dames:

1) Yahilwa – James Cassidy’s 4-year-old by Medaglia d’Oro has run against Iotapa a handful of times this year. She’s had three wins in twenty career starts and is a proven winner at the distance. Finishing second in the Adoration G3 was quite the accomplishment for the filly, but she flopped her next two starts and dropped in class last month to finish second on turf in an Allowance race with an $80,500 claiming tag. Newly placed, Rafael Bejarano may be able to bring out her best, but enough to win this one.

2) Tiz the Key – The only 3-year-old in Saturday’s Zenyatta field, this filly is the baby of the bunch. Richard Mandella’s second entry for Spendthrift Farm LLC has never gone the distance on any surface and failed to fire in her two most recent starts with Tyler Baze in the saddle. Her 86 Beyer is not terrible, but certainly not ideal when compared to her competitors. Seemed a bit unwilling in last month’s San Clement Handicap G2, but, in her defense, it was a twelve horse field that didn’t allow room to advance forward and it is not her forte to trail. With that being said, if she doesn’t break alertly, she’ll get left behind. The daughter of Tiznow and grand-daughter of A.P. Indy may lack the heart necessary to follow in the hoof prints of such greatness.

The Peasants:

1) Wittgenstein – Doug O’Neill’s entry in the field is going to need all the luck she can get as the 30-1 morning line longshot. Her past performances are not reassuring in the least and her 59 Beyer should leave you scratching your head. She ran second to Beholder in last September’s Torrey Pines Stakes, but while she’s been dropping in class, Beholder and the rest of the gals have been consistently running in graded stakes. Mario Gutierrez is most known for his ride aboard I’ll Have Another, but don’t expect him to work wonders on this grand-daughter of Giants Causeway who is far from similar to the 2012 Triple Crown bid. There may be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but it’ll be empty by the time she gets to it.

The Maiden’s Ten Dollar Crusade

$2.00 Superfecta for $8.00 → 2, 4 / 2, 4 / 1 / 3, 5

$2.00 Win bet → #1

Follow The Maiden on Twitter --> @Claudia_WMS

Through the Eyes of the Mad Capper

The Queens:

1) Beholder- Richard Mandella’s highly regarded daughter of Henny Hughes has won five consecutive races at Santa Anita Park and seven out of eight overall on this same oval. Beholder’s last outing resulted in a disappointing fourth place effort in the Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park, but her return to the Golden State is sure to spell trouble for the other entrants here. Three published workouts in September have all been crisp, and if there is such a thing as a horse for course, then Beholder would most certainly be it. Mike Smith gets the mount with regular rider, Gary Stevens, sidelined due to an injury. Papa Mandella’s queen should be sitting patiently behind the front-end speed, and as the short field makes their turn for home, we will be reminded once again why beauty is in the eye of the Beholder.

2) Iotapa- Jockey Joe Talamo has a strong affinity for this daughter of Afleet Alex and has been aboard for some of her most exemplary runs. Aside from a sixth place finish in the Humana Distaff Stakes back in May, Iotapa has finished no worse than second in five other starts this calendar year. Her two most recent outings were in the Vanity Handicap contested in June and the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar in early August. Each of these outings resulted in victory. Iotapa is versatile enough to run confidently on the lead or rate in behind early leaders. The mile and one-sixteenth distance in the Zenyatta is sure to suit the Sadler-trained filly well.

The Nobles:

1) Tiz Midnight- Bob Baffert is likely to send Victor Espinoza and this daughter of Midnight Lute straight to the lead in the Zenyatta Stakes. She is lightly raced and has won three consecutive starts, but of those three, her only win on dirt came in a maiden-breaking effort at Santa Anita in the latter part of June. Her works have been stellar and her two Allowance level wins at Del Mar were dominant, but still, the Mad Capper is yet to be sold on her form over the Santa Anita dirt. She is an undeniable talent, but not nearly enough to tackle our top two this weekend.

The Dames:

1) Tiz the Key- In her seven lifetime starts, Tiz the Key has been victorious just once. Her pedigree includes sheer royalty in the racing world. She was sired by Tiznow and her grandsire was A.P. Indy. This striking filly also hails from the Mandella barn and will be ridden by the hot-handed Tyler Baze. Her last effort came on the turf in the San Clemente Handicap. As she broke from the innermost post that day, she hit the rail and proceeded to encounter a troubled trip throughout the remainder of the race. She has not started on dirt since her maiden score at this track in early April.

2) Yahilwa- James Cassidy conditions this daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, while jockey Rafael Bejarano will be up in the irons. Yahilwa’s races have been most interesting to review. She likes fall in comfortably behind the pack, and will fire emphatically at the frontrunners late, or she will not fire at all. There is no happy medium with this horse. On Saturday, it is the opinion of this handicapper that Yahilwa’s tank will turn up depleted or empty about the time she hits the mile marker.

The Peasants:

1) Wittgenstein- Horse players may have thought their eyes were deceiving them as they read this name while looking at entries for the Zenyatta Stakes. Doug O’Neill simply cannot be understood here. This daughter of Shamardal has posted consecutive seventh place finishes versus Allowance optional level competition at Santa Anita Park. The workouts have not been jaw-dropping, but Mario Gutierrez has still agreed to ride for O’Neill. Outclassed and too slow is not a homemade recipe for saddling a winner.

The Mad Capper’s Ten Dollar Crusade

$5.00 Superfecta → 2,4/2,4/1/3

Follow The Mad Capper on Twitter --> @Matticapper