Lava Man's top rival drops out
Arson Squad had been scratched from today's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, unconfirmed reports saying the Strub Stakes winner has a foot problem. The change has historical ramifications.
Arson Squad -- leading jockey Garrett Gomez's scheduled mount -- was my second choice in the race, the 9-2 second choice on the original morning line, and the 117-pound second highweight. Lava Man is my pick to win, 4-5 in the program, and assigned 124.
Now the second highweight belongs to Awesome Gem, Ball Four and Molengao, each with 116 pounds.
Here's the historical part: Lava Man becomes the first highweight to give away as many as eight pounds in the Big 'Cap since Gentlemen carried 125 to Don't Blame Rio's 117 in 1998. Silver Charm was given 124 that year but scratched the day before the race with a foot bruise. As you remember if you took the 1-20 odds, Gentlemen ran last in the four-horse field as barnmate Malek (115) won with Alex Solis.
The last highweight to concede more than eight pounds was Nodouble, who carried 130 to Figonero's 121 in 1970. Nodouble was a 6-5 favorite but finished eighth to Quicken Tree (118) and Fernando Alvarez.