Anne Marie Duff

THE leading west coast older horses line up for the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita this evening with Bob Baffert’s Hoppertunity the likely favourite.

He takes on the front-running Melatonin, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in a 16/1 shock in March.

Melatonin has this race as his target and is likely to race near the front. He held an early lead in the Big Cap at 10 furlongs and won by four and a half lengths. Melationin went on to finish second, having led early, in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap in Arkansas in April, losing by a length to Effinex.

Hoppertunity, third last time in the $10 million Dubai World Cup in his last start, will be favoured over Second Summer and Hard Aces, the first two finishers of the Californian Stakes.

Second Summer won the Californian Stakes by a length, and will take his first step up to the top level, which also will be his first try beyond nine furlongs. The Summer Bird gelding has won his last three races.

Hard Aces won this race last year but is winless in eight subsequent starts although he was second in the Santa Anita Handicap.

The Gold Cup at Santa Anita will be the first start on the main track for Bal a Bali, who has won 13 of 21 starts and earned $763,478 on turf in Brazil and California.

Lord Nelson steps back into graded company and Kobe’s Back hopes to rebound in the Grade 1 Triple Bend Stakes.

Lord Nelson, who won a June race allowance race at Santa Anita over six furlongs, will make his second start off a layoff that going back to a third-place finish last December behind champion sprinter Runhappy in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes.

That run was his first start after he missed most of his three-year-old season following a fourth in the Pat Day Mile in May at Churchill Downs.

The four-year-old son of Pulpit seeks his first graded victory Bob Baffert since he won the seven-furlong Grade 2 San Vicente in February of his three-year-old season.

Kobe’s Back finished third in a Churchill Downs Grade 2 last time out for trainer Peter Eurton after starting slow and rallying wide. The loss came after back-to-back victories in the two Grade 2s in February and March. The five-year-old son of Flatter could break through to his first Grade 1 victory with his typical late run.

Completing the field are Grade 3 winners Home Run Kitten and Subtle Indian, minor stakes winners Coastline and Ambitious Brew, and allowance winners Clever Royal and Cautious Giant.