Tenma, Vodka With a Twist lead the Santa Anita Oaks

Grade 1 winner Tenma and Vodka With a Twist, runner-up in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, are among the key principals in Saturday’s Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Anita Oaks going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita. With the scratch of Look Forward, the race has a field of five, meaning its point allotment is lowered to 75% of its original value. That means it will be worth 75 points to the winner.

Tenma has won four of her five starts including three graded stakes for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Baoma Corp. As a 2-year-old, she won the Del Mar Debutante (G1) before suffering her only loss in the Oak Leaf (G2) at Santa Anita in October. Tenma closed out her juvenile campaign with a win in the Starlet (G2) at Los Alamitos, then came back to score in the Las Virgenes (G3) on Feb. 2 at Santa Anita in her only start this year.

Tenma, by Nyquist, was an $850,000 auction buy last year. She will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, who was also aboard for both the Starlet and Las Virgenes.

For Vodka With a Twist, this will be her first start since finishing second behind Immersive in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Prior to the Breeders’ Cup, the Thousand Words filly also finished second in both the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and Sorrento (G3), both at Del Mar. She is 7: 2-3-1 with $663,320 in earnings.

Trained by Phil D’Amato, Vodka With a Twist has been working steadily since early February at Santa Anita for her comeback. She will be ridden by Antonio Fresu for the first time.

Silent Law also goes for Baffert. This will be her first time racing around two turns. In her only start this year, the seven-furlong Santa Ynez in January at Santa Anita, Silent Law set the pace before fading to third behind Look Forward, who was entered in the Santa Anita Oaks but was scratched.

By Tiz the Law, Silent Law has a record of 4: 2-1-1 with $111,460 in earnings for owner CSLR Racing Partners. Last year, she won the Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita and was second in the Desi Arnaz at Del Mar following a runaway 10-length debut win at Los Alamitos in September. Silent Law will be ridden by Martin Garcia for the first time.

No Bad Beats will be making both her stakes and two-turn debuts for trainer Doug O’Neill and owner Kluger’s Two Dolla Coffee. The major step-up in class comes following a 1 3/4-length allowance win going six furlongs March 1 at Santa Anita. She dueled on the lead that day and kicked clear in mid-stretch to improve to 5: 2-2-0 with $85,800 in earnings.

By Midnight Storm, No Bad Beats was a $45,000 auction buy as a yearling. She will be ridden by Hector Berrios for the first time.