There's a lot of attention being paid to three-year old colts this time of year, as they try to qualify for the Kentucky Derby. On Saturday though, our attention turns to the older fillies and mares that will be running in the Santa Margarita Stakes, a Grade 1 race with a hefty $500,000 prize pool.
You can find horse racing odds at BookMaker.eu at the online racebook.
ODDS ANALYSIS
1: Living The Life 8/1
2: Tara's Tango 5/2
3: Penwith 5/2
4: Lavender Chrissie 10/1
5: Moyo Honey 12/1
6: All Star Bub 15/1
7: Taris 8/5
There are three ladies out of the seven running who have a legitimate chance to win the Santa Margarita Stakes, at least if you just look at the odds. There isn't a heck of a lot separating Taris, Penwith and Tara's Tango, all of which are between 8 to 5 and 5 to 2. The rest of the fillies and mares in this field are 8 to 1 or greater, though there isn't a horse in the bunch with greater odds than the 15 to 1 of All Star Bub.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
By all accounts, Taris should be the favorite in this race. She's won her last two races, and the last time she was beaten was at the Breeders' Cup. Even that day, she was a 6 to 1 choice and was a threat every step of the way in spite of a third place finish.
We saw Taris run a 115 Beyer Speed Rating in the Raven's Run in October 2014. Yes, it's been a good long while since we've seen her do that, but she still has all sorts of potential and cannot be discounted heading into a really big race in her five-year old year.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
Tara's Tango isn't a traditionally big underdog, but we do believe that the three top horses in this race are ultimately going to hit the board.
There's a lot going here for Tara's Tango. She has a new jockey in Rafael Bejarano, she's coming off of a win at the Santa Maria Stakes, and she's getting blinkers added which might help her skittishness, particularly in the starting box.
The one drawback on Tara's Tango is that she has only run in one Grade 1 race in her career, and she finished second to last at the Cotillion Stakes last September. She's excelling at the Grade 2 level though, and at some point, Tara's Tango is going to have to win one of these major races for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
You could really make a great case for any of these top three horses. We haven't spoken much about Penwith yet, but she's coming off consecutive wins as well.
There's still only one horse in this field who has ever excelled at the top flight of filly and mare racing, and that's Taris. She hasn't raced over the course of the last two months, but we didn't see any ill-effects of a long layoff at the La Canada Handicap in January, and this is a significantly shorter layoff.
Look for Gary Stevens to ride Taris towards the front of the field in the first quarter mile or so, and from there, against a short field, we suspect that Taris will run past the rest of the competition to win the Santa Margarita Stakes by at least two lengths.
Play Taris to win the Santa Margarita Stakes
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