Saturday, January 9 Race 8 La Canada Stakes

#7 Never Be Enough – minimum betting odds 2/1 #3 Fighting Mad – minimum betting odds 2/1 #1 Proud Emma – minimum betting odds 7/2

Exactas: 3,7 over 1,2,3,4,7 1,3,7 over 1,2,3,4,7 #2 is Hard Not to Love #4 is Message

Although she has never run a race on a conventional dirt surface, I believe Never Be Enough can run well enough to post the upset in this year’s La Canada Stakes. This hard knocking mare leads the field by far in races run in her career (29), having won seven and finishing second in five others, including a four for 10 record in 2020. Shipping from trainer Manuel Badilla’s Golden Gate Fields base last fall, Never Be Enough won the Kathryn Crosby Stakes (111 Equibase Speed Figure) on the turf at Del Mar then two races later was closing strongly late and ended up second in the Robert J. Frankel Stakes, ending up beaten just three-quarters of a length at the end by Mucho Unusual (a grade 1 stakes winner). That 111 figure matches up perfectly with the 112 figures Fighting Mad earned winning the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes and with the 112 figure Hard Not to Love earned when second in the . As such, if Never Be Enough (GB) can transfer her form to the main track, she has every right to run well enough to win this race

Fighting Mad hasn’t been seen since finishing third as the prohibitive favorite in the Stakes last September, a disappointing effort which led to her skipping the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and taking time off to prepare for her five year old campaign. Prior to that, Fighting Mad led from start to finish and dominated against short five and six horse fields in the Santa Maria Stakes (117 figure) and Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (112 figure). In the La Canada, I expect Fighting Mad to secure the lead at the start and try to control the pace to the finish, which is certainly possible. However, horses like Message, Sanenus and Miss Stormy D may also want the lead or to be very close to the front, which may see Fighting Mad run more like she did in the Zenyatta when passed late in the stretch.

Proud Emma just won the identical Bayakoa Stakes at Los Alamitos with a 104 figure and three races before that won the Tranquility Lake Stakes with a 105 figure. In both races, Proud Emma closed from off the pace so in the La Canada she has a chance to save ground from the rail and close into the pacesetter in the stretch although she would need to improve to get to the 112 figure level it appears the winner of this race will need to earn to win.

Hard Not to Love is certainly a contender but I don’t think she can win the La Canada. In three of her four races around two-turns, she has managed second place but all were in short fields of six or less. The best of those earned a 112 figure when second in the Santa Maria. However, Fighting Mad won that race after leading from the start and that’s a more likely scenario in my opinion than Hard Not to Love turning the tables on her foe.

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