CINEMA H. (G3), 9TH-HOL, $100,000, 3YO, 1 1/8MT, 5:00 P.M. (PDT), 6-21
PP HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY WT
1 MASSONE MCANALLY RONALD GOMEZ G K 116
2 DOVER STREET ART (IRE) O'NEILL DOUG BAZE T C 113
3 FLASHMANS PAPERS (GB) O'NEILL DOUG BLANC B 116
4 ELUSIVE BLUFF GUILLOT ERIC BAZE M C 118
5 HERR MOZART BAFFERT BOB ESPINOZA V 114
6 ARDEN PARK GILCHRIST GREG BEJARANO R 116
7 OIL MAN (IRE) SADLER JOHN W ROSARIO JOEL 115
8 ARCODORO GUILLOT ERIC TALAMO JOSEPH 109
ELUSIVE BLUFF (Elusive Quality) will make his first start since winning the Pilgrim S. (G3) at Belmont Park in early October, and we'll give him top billing in a less-than-stellar edition of Sunday's $100,000 Cinema H. (G3) at Hollywood Park. Trained by Eric Guillot, the unbeaten bay displayed a nice turn of foot after tracking the pace in both starts, earning commendable BRIS numbers, and the stalker should sit a perfect trip close to a very moderate pace on Sunday. Michael Baze, who was up for the Pilgrim score, will return to the saddle aboard the promising colt.
OIL MAN (Ire) (Pyrus) relished the stretch out to nine furlongs when capturing an entry-level allowance last out. The John Sadler-trained colt owns graded experience and is training forwardly for his return off a freshening, recording a six-furlong bullet move in 1:12 on June 8. His BRIS Late Pace figures are among the best, and Joel Rosario will return to the saddle aboard the improving three-year-old. Oil Man could be rallying fastest of all among the deep closers.
MASSONE (Menifee) merits serious respect. The Grade 1-placed runner made his turf debut last out in the Alcatraz S. at Golden Gate Fields and left himself with far too much to do in the stretch before rallying for third, beaten a length. The Ron McAnally pupil recorded a whopping 112 BRIS Late Pace rating last time, so he can finish, but the maiden winner often comes up short. We'll use him on the bottom of our top three.
ARCODORO (Medaglia d'Oro) is still a maiden, but he's got a chance at an upset. The Guillot trainee exits a much-improved runner-up finish in which he set the pace before weakening slightly in deep stretch, and he could wind up as lone speed in this spot under Joe Talamo. It's still a tall task for such an unproven three-year-old, but Arcodoro has the potential to shake loose during the early stages. We'll throw him in a couple of gimmicks.
HERR MOZART (Mr. Greeley) will look to offer a challenge under new rider Victor Espinoza. He exits a win over entry-level allowance rivals and could keep improving for conditioner Bob Baffert, but we still have some doubts about his overall quality at this stage of his career. We'll look for more down the road from Herr Mozart. FLASHMANS PAPERS (GB) (Exceed and Excel) owns solid credentials, but we'll try to beat him for the win. The Doug O'Neill charge is bred to run long, but he's raced mostly in sprints and will be tested over nine furlongs for the first time on Sunday. He's can't be dismissed from exotics consideration.
ARDEN PARK (Ecton Park) will receive a positive jockey switch to Rafael Bejarano, but we didn't like the way he ran in his lone previous start in Southern California. The Greg Gilchrist colt has the talent to be a factor at this level, but we'll give him a race at this extended distance. DOVER STREET ART (Ire) (Alhaarth) hasn't shown enough in three U.S. starts for us to recommend his chances.
1st-ELUSIVE BLUFF
2nd-OIL MAN (Ire)
3rd-MASSONE
