Betting With, and Against, Explora in the Santa Ynez Stakes

A compact field of five sophomore fillies will travel seven-eighths on the Santa Anita dirt in Saturday’s $100,000 Santa Ynez S. Oak Leaf (G2) heroine #2 Explora (1-2) is the class of the cast and looms large for trainer Bob Baffert. By Blame, the $350,000 acquisition is two-for-four in her lifetime with second-place finishes in both the Del Mar Debutante (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) to her credit. 

Explora – With

• $20 exacta 2 with 4,5 ($40)

Explora – Against

• $30 win #5 La Wally ($30)
• $5 exacta 4,5 with 2 ($10)

Explora was excellent in her lone run on the oval and comes in fresh with a few solid morning drills for Baffert, who is responsible for three fillies in the field. The dark bay Kentucky-bred owns the positional speed to be involved in the affair from the break and will be tough to upend if she runs her best race on Saturday with regular pilot Juan Hernandez in the controls. 

The late-running #5 La Wally (6-1) was taken out of her game when chasing a clear leader in the Juvenile Fillies and comes in with blinkers on for this endeavor. The Mark Glatt pupil finished behind the favorite in her two prior runs in advance of the Breeders’ Cup, but she could get a favorable pace set up in this particular race, where the tempo is likely to be swift and contested. The Constitution filly has posted a handful of morning drills in anticipation of her three-year-old debut and is worth a look with Umberto Rispoli in the stirrups. 

#4 Toaster (10-1) is the biggest price in the field and is the wildcard for Baffert. The Kentucky-bred daughter of McKinzie made her first appearance at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12 and made good at first asking with a solid score in a decent group as the even-money favorite. She was going well late in that heat, and the bay figures to move forward with the extra furlong with which to work with on this occasion. The expensive sophomore draws outside of the other pace in the race and could sit a good voyage while prompting the pace on the outside beneath Mike Smith.