Sham Preview: Will it All Add up to a Maiden Win?

Richard C. Pell’s Calculator (In Summation), a late scratch from the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with a foot ailment, headlines a field of eight slated for today’s GIII Sham S. at Santa Anita. 

The maiden of four starts held his own with a pair of second-place finishes behind Eclipse Award finalist American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GI Del Mar Futurity Sept. 3 and GI FrontRunner S. Sept. 27, respectively. Calculator had 1 1/2 lengths to spare over third-place finisher and subsequent runaway Juvenile hero Texas Red (Afleet Alex) in the FrontRunner, his first attempt around two turns and on dirt. Trained by Peter Miller, Calculator fired a best-of-32 six-furlong bullet in 1:11 3/5 at Santa Anita Jan. 4. 

Hero Ten All (Rock Hard Ten), second behind unbeaten GI Los Alamitos Futurity winner and “TDN Rising Star” Dortmund (Big Brown) in his 6 1/2-furlong debut here Nov. 2, successfully stretched to a mile for trainer Jeff Mullins with a come-from-behind victory at Los Al Dec. 7. Rockinatten (High Cotton) blew the doors off at third asking for owner Niall Brennan and trainer Ralph Nicks with an 8 3/4-length tally at Gulfstream West Oct. 26. Purchased privately since, the bay stretches to two turns in his first attempt for trainer Doug O’Neill. 

Unblunted (Sharp Humor) failed to build off his smart maiden here Oct. 18 with a disappointing fifth as the even-money favorite over Golden Gate’s Tapeta in the Dec. 6 Gold Rush S. “He was wide into the first turn, wide up the backside and things never panned out like we hoped,” trainer Michael McCarthy said. “We’ll draw a line through it and start again here Saturday.” 

Donegal Racing’s Rock Shandy (Lemon Drop Kid), a close third in the grassy GIII Cecil B. DeMille S. at Del Mar Nov. 30, makes his first start on dirt in this one.