Secret Circle to Sport Blinkers in Palos Verdes

With a bankroll of $2,430,790 from only 14 career starts, Secret Circle has more than paid his way for owners Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman.

But equine or human, the aging process eventually creeps up, which is why Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will have blinkers on Secret Circle when he runs in Saturday’s Grade II Palos Verdes Stakes for older horses at six furlongs.

Secret Circle, a 6-year-old Eddington horse bred in Kentucky, is coming off a fourth-place finish as the odds-on favorite in the Grade III Midnight Lute Stakes on Dec. 27. He won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 2013 and was second in the race last year. The only previous time he ran in blinkers was as a 2-year-old, when he captured the defunct Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint in 2011.

Last year, Secret Circle was second in the Palos Verdes, beaten a neck by Wild Dude, who’s back for another go Saturday.

“We worked him the other day with blinkers on and we thought he worked better with them,” Baffert said of Secret Circle. “He was a little bit more focused. Sometimes when they get older they lose a little interest.

“I don’t know if it made a big difference, but put it this way; it’s not going to hurt him. When he was a 2-year-old, he’d go too fast early. Now he’s not going fast enough early.”

Trainer Jeff Bonde on committed front-runner and 2-1 morning line favorite Distinctiv Passion, who has failed to make the lead at some point only once in 13 career starts: “He’s a very quick horse. He makes his own race.”

The field for the Palos Verdes, race six of nine: Distinctiv Passion, Mike Smith, 2-1; Big Macher, Tyler Baze, 5-2; Conquest Two Step, Joe Talamo, 4-1; Secret Circle, Martin Garcia, 5-2; Wild Dude, Rafael Bejarano, 4-1; and Chief Lion, Martin Pedroza, 15-1.

CASSE SENDS OUT TWO IN GRADE I LAS VIRGENES

Mio Me and Miss Mandate face their greatest challenge yet when they run in Saturday’s Grade I, $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at one mile.

Mio Me is coming off a maiden win in only her second start, while Miss Mandate was second last out in an overnight race.

“It’s definitely a step up, but I kind of feel at least our fillies have two turn races under their belt, which is going to be a help,” trainer Mark Casse said. “They’re definitely going to have to step up their game to be competitive, but that’s why they’re Grade I races.”

The field for the Las Virgenes, which goes the eighth race: Glory, Mike Smith, 4-1; Maybellene, Rafael Bejarano, 3-1; Lutine Belle, Alex Solis, 12-1; Achiever’s Legacy, Drayden Van Dyke, 8-1; Mio Me, Corey Nakatani, 15-1; Majestic Presence, Gary Stevens, 7-2, Callback, Martin Garcia, 4-1; Suva Harbor, Martin Pedroza, 8-1; Miss Mandate, Joe Talamo, 12-1; and Light the City, Kent Desormeaux, 6-1.

Source: Ed Golden, Santa Anita Stable Notes