Pick 4 of the Week: Santa Anita Sunday, Dec. 28

An all-graded stakes sequence will close out the 11-race card during opening day at Santa Anita on Sunday. 

Pick 4 Wager: Races 8-11

• 50-cent Pick 4: 3,9,10 with 4,9 with 3,5,8,9,10 with 2,3,10 ($45)

Race 8 – La Brea S. (G1)

A sizable group of 11 sophomore fillies will vie in the deep opening leg of the play. I’ve been following #9 Formula Rossa (3-1) since her stylish debut win on the surface in February, and the lightly raced filly is my top pick for trainer Mark Glatt. The Vekoma chestnut finished a good second behind the classy Sweet Azteca at Del Mar in her most recent appearance and has trained forwardly in the interim. Mike Smith will guide the fine prospect. 

#10 Magnificat (20-1) is too good a price to omit for Richard Mandella. The Omaha Beach filly is two-for-two on the dirt in her lifetime, with a game maiden win on this strip preceding a gutsy allowance coup at Del Mar most recently. Mirco Demuro will take the reins. Trainer George Weaver will send out Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) heroine #3 Five G (7-2) off the long layoff, and I like the aggressive move from this outfit. The Vekoma bay got in a half-mile morning spin over the oval to prepare for Sunday and will have Irad in the irons. 

Race 9 – San Gabriel S. (G3)

A total of 11 runners will go 1 1/8 miles on the green in a super-competitive contest. Multiple stakes star #4 Stay Hot (4-1) thrives over the local lawn and is the most consistent contender in the field. The Peter Eurton pupil will be in the mix late with something close to his best effort with Irad in the silks. 

#9 Cabo Spirit (8-1) is the pace of the race and will be tough to pass in the lane with expected improvement second off the shelf. The Grade 3 star has held up well while facing some really good ones in 2025, and I like his fit in the event with Mike Smith taking the reins. 

Race 10 – Malibu S. (G1)

Trainer Bob Baffert will saddle five of the ten in the seven-furlong heat in hopes of recording his seventh win in this race. I can truly make a case for any of his entrants in this spot, and I feel compelled to include each. Woody Stephens S. (G1) second #3 Madaket Road (5-1), #5 Midland Money (7-2), top pick #8 Cornucopian (7-2), Grade 2 victor #9 Barnes (3-1), and two-time Grade-1 placed #10 Goal Oriented (5-1) will be on the ticket. 

Race 11 – American Oaks (G1)

The finale is for three-year-old fillies that will go 1 1/4 miles on the sod, in what is the final Grade 1 event of 2025. Morning-line choice #10 Atsila (5-2) will make her U. S. debut in this spot for conditioner Richard Baltas. The Group 3 heroine has faced Group 1 foes in five straight in advance of Sunday, and I feel that the Phoenix of Spain filly is a must-use. 

#2 Will Then (7-2), one of three in the field for trainer Jonathan Thomas, was a smart stakes winner in her lone prior run locally and should receive a good trip near the rail under Flavien Prat. I love the stretch out to 10 furlongs for Cherie DeVaux’s #3 Cliffs (6-1). The Omaha Beach filly will need some pace help to aid her substantial late kick, but I feel that she could get a decent setup in her California debut beneath Jose Ortiz.