San Pasqual Stakes 2017: Odds and Picks

January 1 starts a whole new year of racing, and Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic champion Arrogate will be kicking off 2017 in the $200,000, Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita Park. Arrogate heads up the five entries of older horses and will be using the San Pasqual as a prep for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup on January 28.

San Pasqual picks from Zipse at the Track can be found at Arrogate led San Pasqual 2017: Odds and Analysis. Odds are below as seen on the HRN Stakes Tracker.

Arrogate, a son of Unbridled’s Song will be kicking off his four-year-old season as the likely favorite. Owner Juddmonte Farms purchased a Pegasus entry slot from Coolmore, and after a six-furlong bullet work going 1:12.20 the 27th at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Arrogate for the San Pasqual. Ever since exploding down the stretch in the Grade 1 Travers before strolling past California Chrome, who is also heading to the Pegasus, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Arrogate has looked nearly impossible to beat.

Although Midnight Storm’s recent success has mainly been on the turf, he showed his versatility on the dirt winning last time out in the Grade 3 Native Diver. Now the Pioneerof the Nile colt takes on Arrogate, but may have an advantage with the shorter distance. While Arrogate’s two star performances came at the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, Midnight Storm’s 2016 victories all came on the lead going one mile to 1 1/8 miles. If Arrogate is geared down in his prep, Midnight Storm may be able to pull off the upset.

Accelerate is another late bloomer on the rise. A son of Lookin At Lucky, Accelerate broke his maiden in July before taking the Shared Belief Stakes and the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Derby. He was also third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in only his third stakes attempt and is likely to finish well in the San Pasqual.

By Christine Oser