The Lead:
Santa Anita has perhaps its most important card since opening day Dec. 26 when Saturday's slate features 4 stakes races. Champion 2-Year-Old Citizen Bull begins his march toward the Triple Crown in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes to headline the action. But it's the 9-runner $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes that may be the best betting chance of the day in Race 8.

​Field Depth:
Grade 2 winners abound in this Grade 3 event, including CABO SPIRIT, AIR FORCE RED and SEAL TEAM. The lineup features Grade 3 winners LAMMAS and PACKS A WAHLOP, while ASTRONOMER is Grade 2-placed. CABO SPIRIT and ASTRONOMER have consistently kept the strongest company lines.
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Pace:
This should cook early with speed from AIR FORCE ONE, EL POTENTE and WIZARD OF WESTWOOD potentially pressed by CABO SPIRIT and ASTRONOMER. A strong finisher might be able to kick by these for the score.

Our Eyes:
Here are my horse-by-horse notes.

#1-CABO SPIRIT: Trying to rekindle the magic of his 24-1 upset in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship over this course in September (pictured). But that was his only win in his last 15 starts and he's been off the board in all 3 races since. Cut back to a mile should dampen some of his early speed and he'll be optimistically fall into a first-over, favorable trip.

#2-AIR FORCE RED: Splits time between turf sprints and miles, but is just 1-for-9 at this distance. Expect him to be used for speed early to secure the inside edge into the clubhouse turn by red-hot rider Juan Hernandez. He's just 1 for his last 12, including a third-place finish in this race in 2023.

#3-ZIO JO: Allowance success didn't muster much in the Grade 2 Seabiscuit in his first stakes attempt November 30 for Doug O'Neill. Respect the 11: 4-1-1 mark at the turf mile trip and his late-running style will be flattered by the expected quick pace. Caution is that his BRIS late pace figures aren't as strong as you'd prefer for a closer.

#4-LAMMAS: Admirable 12-for-35 lifetime record and versatility has shown on just about any surface. This will be his Santa Anita turf debut, but he won the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile over this trip at Golden Gate Fields. Didn't run a jump last time on dirt and was too consistent before that to believe the performance. Back firing bullets at Pleasanton training for this.

#5-ASTRONOMER: Blinkers off in the San Gabriel last time didn't produce positive results, so they go back on this lightly raced 6-year-old with 16 career starts. Winless in 5 Santa Anita turf attempts (4 out of the money finishes), but does lure Frankie Dettori for the first time. Stacks up well on speed figures, but he's failed to win in his last 10 starts.

#6-WIZARD OF WESTWOOD: Michael McCarthy trainee comes off a March layoff and runs on turf for the first time since September of 2023. His local 3-year-old form was strong in '23, winning the Cinema and hitting the board in the Baffle, Pasadena and Singletary. Perfectly spaced work tab for the return. Best races near the lead and it should be contested Saturday.

#7-EL POTENTE: Expected pace player steps up in class from an allowance win over this course and distance January 4. The 6-year-old has made just 13 starts, but 5 wins (6: 4-0-1 on SA turf) are respected. This will be the toughest test of the Dan Blacker trainee's career, but he's competitive on speed figures.

#8-PACKS A WAHLOP: Since starting his career 3-for-4, he's lost 13 straight and comes into the Thunder Road with a new address. John Sadler claimed him for $50,000 off a runner-up big Dec. 28 as the beaten favorite. He'll add blinkers and steps up into a protected race; two things I like to see with a barn change.

#9-SEAL TEAM: Very light campaigns at ages 2, 3 and 4 have this War Front 5-year-old still with an unrealized ceiling. HIs third last out in the San Gabriel behind top west coast turfer Johannes was highly commendable. Richard Mandella finds a drop in class here that makes him the horse to beat and he'll get the right pace set-up.

Most Certain Exotics Contender:
SEAL TEAM appears best on paper and has the right tempo in front of him for success.

Best Longshot Exotics Contender:
ZIO JOE should have a chance late to get into the bottom of the exotics on his best effort at a nice price.

Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$100 win SEAL TEAM.