My Santa Anita Handicap picks
Horses for Saturday's Santa Anita Handicap are shown in order of preference.
Listed are post position, horse (weight assignment), jockey and morning line.
7 Lava Man (124), Corey Nakatani, 4-5
If he runs as he has in his last eight starts in-state, it's hard to see how he loses
8 Arson Squad (117), Garrett Gomez, 9-2
Strub Stakes winner gets better as the races get longer, and has the leading rider
1 Awesome Gem (116), Tyler Baze, 10-1
San Fernando winner can resume rapid improvement at a price after Strub flop
6 Molengao (116), Victor Espinoza, 6-1
San Antonio winner is likely to be far back early and need a tiring pace up front
4 Ball Four (116), Julien Leparoux, 15-1
Wired Kentucky Cup Classic last fall; sneaking away from Lava Man will be harder
9 McCann’s Mojave (115), Frank Alvarado, 15-1
If horse owned by PR man Mike Willman wins, expect cheering in the press box
3 Boboman (115), Alex Solis, 12-1
Grade I win in Hollywood Turf Cup freed Richard Mandella to try him on dirt
2 El Roblar (114), Richard Migliore, 20-1
Mandella hopes his third race after surgery and longer trip make this "the big day"
5 Spring at Last (115), David Flores, 15-1
A big-time "hidden entry play" for fans of Lava Man trainer Doug O'Neill