San Pasqual- 2016 West Coast Dominance

Horse racing fans won't have to wait too long before watching 2 of the likely biggest stars of the New Year battle it out. According to an article in Bloodhorse, California Chrome and Dortmund are both probable to face off in the San Pasqual on January 9th. The Grade II $200,000 San Pasqual could also see Hoppertunity, Baffert's projected "B Player" for 2016. It's nice to start 2016 off with possible one of the biggest races of the year.

 



But in addition to possibly being one of the biggest races of the year, the San Pasqual could also give horse racing fans a glimpse of how dominant the West Coast horses are likely to be in 2016. Sure, the East Coast and the South, especially if you throw in Kentucky, will provide great racing action, but the West is where the best will come from. Here are 5 horses that should prove it on the race track.

 

Why the West Will Dominate in 2016

1. Beholder - Maybe, she would have beaten American Pharoah. Maybe, she wouldn't have. Does it matter? Pharoah is retired. Beholder isn't. She probably won't even hit the race track until June or July, but, again, does it matter? She's the best racehorse in the world in my opinion now that American Pharoah has retired. Plus, in 2016 there's no reason not to point her to the 2016 Breeders Cup Classic. The Breeders Cup is being held at Santa Anita in 2016.

2. California Chrome - Some racing bloggers are saying that they don't feel he'll win a race in 2016. I think Chrome is an  iron horse. He ran too good to lose in the 2016 Dubai World Cup. Prince Bishop was phenomenal that day. He lost to ill-fated Shared Belief in the San Antonio Invitational. I'm not sure this guy has peaked yet. Sometimes they do get better as they get older. If any horse can do it, it's probably Chrome. He's also one of those horses that loves to run. That's a huge positive.

3. Dortmund - Man, this guy is good! Watch the Native Diver Handicap again. Majestic City got an easy lead. Dortmund breezed up to him before the turn. He breezed through the entire backstretch before turning it on when asked. When a horse as talented as Dortmund is that easy to handle, expect a that horse to win a lot of races. We know that he can handle the classic distance because he finished third in the Kentucky Derby. I still say that if he hadn't had run 6 races before the Derby, if it had been only 4, he might have won it.

4. Songbird

Before the summer she'll dominate three-year-old fillies. I'm still holding out hope that they decide to run her in the Kentucky Derby. That's how dominant I know she'll be. By the end of the summer, she might be the biggest favorite on the Breeders Cup Day Saturday Card if she runs in the Distaff. Who knows? She could dominate so much that even Jerry Hollendorfer, who doesn't like to run the girls against the boys, changes his mind.

5. Runhappy (?) - Yeah, I had to add a question mark to Runhappy. We don't know where he'll run  next. Instead of repeating myself, I'll just point you out to a blog that I wrote this past Sunday.