ARCADIA, Calif. – Off the board in separate stakes races, a pair of class droppers hope for better luck in the late double on Friday the 13th at Santa Anita.
Artisma in race 7 and John Metcalfe in race 8, despite eighth-place finishes last out, are favored in the final two races Friday. Artisma runs six furlongs in a first-level allowance for fillies and mares, while John Metcalfe runs a mile on turf in a maiden race for Cal-bred 3-year-olds.
If both favorites win, the $5 late double, with a 15 percent takeout, would rival the lowest of the meet, which was a $30 return on Jan. 31 with odds-on Cornucopian and 2-1 favorite Counterbalance. Through Sunday, the 21st day of racing, the median payoff in the $5 late double was $98.
If the favorites miss on Friday, anything goes, and it’s easy to be skeptical. Stakes-placed Artisma is a habitual bridesmaid who has finished second in all four of her allowance starts. John Metcalfe is a six-start maiden with three runner-up finishes. Like them or not, both horses “figure.”
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Richard Baltas trains Artisma, who added blinkers when she took a shot Dec. 28 in the Grade 1 La Brea. Why blinkers?
“It seemed like she was hanging all the time,” Baltas said. “I thought she might make the lead. She broke a little slow, rushed up into a fast pace, and just spit it.”
The La Brea was a tough spot for Artisma, and a half-mile in a quick 44.43 seconds made it even tougher. Friday, she drops into an entry-level allowance, removes blinkers, breaks from the advantageous outside post, and switches riders to Kyle Frey.
“Kyle worked [Artisma] the other day and really liked the way she worked,” Baltas said.
It was a 49.20-second half-mile over a Santa Anita surface that has played exceptionally slow. If she runs to her previous allowance starts, Artisma should win.
The Beyer Speed Figure par for entry-level allowance sprint fillies at Santa Anita is 81. Artisma has matched or exceeded par in all four of her allowance starts. Furthermore, six-furlong dirt sprints this meet have gone surprisingly to form, as favorites have won 16 of 27. Artisma is the 5-2 program favorite.
The knock on Artisma is she rarely finishes the job. Since winning her debut in late 2024, seven subsequent starts have produced one runner-up finish in a stakes and four seconds in allowances. If she misses again, six-time winner Lovin’ On the Run is a logical alternative.
Lovin’ On the Run was claimed by trainer Isidro Tamayo from a clear-cut victory in a $25,000 claiming turf sprint. On dirt, Lovin’ On the Run is 3 for 7. Others entered Friday include Pocket Venus, who is eligible for an easier starter allowance.
Delitefull Hart has won the first allowance condition. She runs Friday for the $50,000 optional claiming tag in her first start since June 2024.
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Race 8 program favorite John Metcalfe is the most probable winner on the Friday card, although trainer Craig Lewis cautioned, “I think even money is maybe a little too low.”
Up until the California Chrome Cal Cup Derby on Jan. 17, John Metcalfe was improving. Three runner-up finishes in routes included two against maidens and the King Glorious Stakes for Cal-bred 2-year-olds in December at Los Alamitos. In the Cal Cup, everything went wrong.
Lewis described the start: “He went in the air, then the horse inside him and the horse outside him both made contact with him and pinched him off. That pretty much eliminated him. He was able to get back into the race, and then he got shut off again about the two and a half [furlong marker], and it was game over.”
Jockey Juan Hernandez wrapped up and John Metcalfe coasted home, beaten more than 32 lengths.
“He got his feelings hurt, but he’s physically good,” Lewis said.
John Metcalfe drops Friday into a Cal-bred maiden race, and he looks like a standout.
“His main issue is he’s very keen. He wants to do more than we want him to do early,” Lewis said. “I hope Juan can get him settled a little bit. It’s a tough task because he’s very aggressive.”
If he misses, also-eligible Flash of Lightning figures based on his recent third-place finish in his first route. Dr. Filkins stretches out as a potential pacesetter over a turf course that has favored speed this meet at one mile when the rails are at the 30-foot setting, which will be the case on Friday. Pacesetters have won seven of the 12 turf miles with the rails at the outermost 30-foot setting.
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