Favorites Really Are Odds-On

Those who like prohibitive favorites had a field day in the three stakes races at Santa Anita over the weekend.

Behaving Badly, the 1-5 choice, easily won the $100,000 Las Flores Handicap on Saturday. Four races later, Moscow Burning captured the $100,000 Pro Or Con Handicap at 7-10 odds.

Form prevailed again Sunday when Atlando, part of a three-horse entry that was the 2-5 favorite, won the $150,000 San Luis Obispo Handicap.

Owned by Gary Tanaka, who also started third-place finisher King’s Drama and the mare Aubonne, who finished last in the Grade II, Atlando won for the second time in four U.S. starts, beating T.H. Approval, the 3-1 second choice, by three-quarters of a length.

Ridden by Martin Pedroza, the 5-year-old gelded son of Hernando ran the 1 1/2 miles on turf in 2:23.95 for his sixth win in 16 starts. This was the first San Luis Obispo win for Tanaka, Pedroza and trainer Darrell Vienna.

“There were different instructions the whole week because this horse had never been a mile and a half,” Pedroza said. “Everything changed when I got to the paddock. I was told just to ride him my way and I did.

“Every time I’ve worked him, I work him behind horses and he has a hell of a kick. I was saving as much as I could, and I really didn’t think the distance would be a problem.”

T.H. Approval, who was making his first start since finishing in a dead heat for second in the Sunset Breeders’ Cup Handicap last July 17 at Hollywood Park, finished three-quarters of a length in front of King’s Drama, the main reason why the entry was such a heavy favorite.

Fantastic Spain, who would have been the second choice to the entry, was scratched Sunday morning by trainer Neil Drysdale in favor of a race Wednesday.

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Entries will be taken Wednesday for the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap, which will be run for the 69th time Saturday.

A field of 11 is considered probable for the Grade I at 1 1/4 miles, including Lava Man and High Limit, the co-highweights at 120 pounds. Giacomo -- the 2005 Kentucky Derby winner who worked five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 Sunday morning at Hollywood Park -- Fitz Flag, Magnum, Wilko, Marenostrum, Spellbinder, Texcess, Top This And That and With Distinction are also expected to run.

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Jockey Dennis Means completed a sweep of the weekend Grade I’s at Los Alamitos with a victory aboard 2-1 favorite Gold Medal Jess in the $204,350 Los Alamitos Winter Championship late Saturday night.

Means, who had won the Winter Derby with 8-1 shot Startlet Hawk on Friday, directed the 4-year-old Mr. Jess Perry horse to a half-length win over Apollos Favorite. Owned by Joel Rod Pierce and trained by Brett Vickery, Gold Medal Jess ran the 400 yards in a stakes-record 19.479 seconds.

The win was the seventh in 22 starts for the Texas-bred, and he earned a spot in the Champion Of Champions in December.

Whosleavingwho, who finished fifth, was retired after the race by owners Jim Geiler and Kim Kessinger. The 8-year-old exits with 23 wins in 47 starts and more than $1.3 million in earnings.