Exotics Plays for the 2026 Wishing Well Stakes

A very good field of nine fillies and mares will jaunt six panels on the Santa Anita green in Saturday’s $100,000 Wishing Well S. The grassy dash lacks a clear standout in my opinion, and it looks like a nice race to key in on a few of the contenders in the heat. 

Wishing Well Wagers

• $4 exacta box 4,6,9 ($24)
• $1 trifecta 4,6,9 with 2,4,6,9 with 2,4,6,9 ($18)
• $.10-cent superfecta 4,6,9 with 4,6,9 with 2,4,6,9 with all ($7.20)

The Phil D’Amato-trained #9 Jungle Peace (9-2) is winless since April, but the four-year-old has some excuses for her defeats, and I am expecting her to run her best race on Saturday. By Bungle Inthejungle, the bay comes in fresh for her first run of 2026, and she loves the course, evidenced by her 4-3-0-1 mark on the surface. The speedy Irish-bred will be forcing the pace from the start, with Antonio Fresu signed on. 

European import #4 Saratoga Special (5-1) is a wildcard in the field while making her first appearance in the states for Richard Baltas. The Mehmas four-year-old brought more than $450,000 at Tattersalls and has recorded five swift morning drills in the interim. In a dash without an abundance of gate speed, I expect the filly to run to her works and to be involved early on with good turf pilot Hector Berrios in the stirrups. 

The unbeaten #6 Gratefully (2-1) can’t be ignored after dominating allowance foes on the strip in her Golden State debut, most recently for Falcone. The Laoban filly, who was a $155,000 yearling purchase, proved to be capable of winning from off the pace last time and has room to improve second off the layoff, as well. The Kentucky-bred figures to receive a similar type of voyage on Saturday in the second flight leading up to the turn for home, and she will be formidable with a forward move under Florent Geroux.  

#2 Amorita (15-1) is a horse that I will use in the lower rungs of the gimmicks at a big price. The chestnut daughter of Liam’s Map missed by a head in the Senorita (G3) sprinting on this surface in the spring, and the four-year-old has posted some fast morning drills in preparation for her comeback. She could earn a share late with Mirco Demuro in the silks.