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This Saturday shapes up to big a big day for California racing, with four graded stakes and an overnight highlighting the card. The first of the graded stakes is the 12th running of the Grade II Yanta Snez Stakes, $150,000 on the line for three-year-old fillies going seven furlongs. The most accomplished of past winners is probably the 2008 winner, Miscalculation<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/span>She has gone on to win five more graded stakes and is currently the number six rated older distaff sprinter.\u00a0 <\/span>Another previous winner is stakes record holder K’s Escape<\/strong>, who, while she won only one more graded stakes, ended her career with 21 wins in only 46 starts. The race has been kind to all styles of runners, but it has been particularly kind to favorites – six favorites and two second-favorites have won the 11 previous races, and only once has a filly at longer than 10-1 odds had her picture taken. For only the second time since 2001 the race failed to fill, attracting only eight fillies, and an eclectic group at that.\u00a0 <\/span>Two of the top ten rated sprinters are in the race, two fillies are unrated in the division, and two make only their third career start today. Here is a look at the field: PP 1 FORTY CORINTHIANS<\/strong>(KY)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/font><\/span>(CORINTHIAN x FORTY NINER x ROBERTO) bred and trained by <\/b>john7317<\/b><\/i> (John5539 Stables, 13%) Style: P Odds: 5-2<\/b> <\/p>\n With four wins, including a win in the GI Getaway, in eight starts and a number three ranking in the division she looms as a deserving morning line choice. \u00a0She gets the weakest competition she’s seen in a while.\u00a0 She was second choice in the Breeders Bowl but ran a disappointing seventh after unwisely chasing a hot pace.\u00a0 Two races back she was second against a very strong GI Frickazee Stakes field in an effort that gives her the best lifetime speed figure in the field.\u00a0 She shortens back to a sprint today.\u00a0 If she’s ready after a two month layoff, she’s clearly the one to beat.<\/span> PP 2 <\/font><\/span>PRECIOUS PASSION<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/a>(KY)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span>(FUSAICHI PEGASUS x SECRETARIAT x MR. PROSPECTOR), bred and trained by wv<\/strong><\/i> (Wv Stables, 11%)\u00a0 <\/span>Style: P Odds: 6-1<\/span> Precious was racking up wins and points against four- and five-filly fields and then tackled a DPCD field last time.\u00a0 She did well to run an even sixth against a full and very tough field.\u00a0 The last horse entered, her connections may have been attracted by the relatively short field.\u00a0 She certainly has an easier task ahead of her today than she faced three weeks ago, but still it looks is a tougher field than any she has beaten.<\/span> PP 3 <\/font><\/span>ISSA<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/a>(KY)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span>(JOHANNESBURG x SPEIGHTSTOWN x SECRETARIAT) bred and trained by hipica<\/strong><\/i> (Hipica Stables, 10%) Style: E Odds: 9-2<\/span> For the third straight race, Issa finds herself against Forty Corinthians.\u00a0 That Issa was able to get clear from the Breeders’ Bowl field last time is impressive but not surprising.\u00a0 She has owned the first two calls in all seven of her lifetime races.\u00a0 There are a couple other early pace fillies in here, but if Issa is going for the lead again, she is again likely to make it.\u00a0 She’s been caught in her last five races, the last two times by the favorite and others.\u00a0 The two month layoff, the maturing as she turns three, the return to sprints, the enlistment of a jockey off to an explosive 2010 start are all positive signs.\u00a0 This number-eight ranked filly is a tempting choice.<\/span> PP 4 \u00a0<\/span><\/span>THE MED ACADEMY<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/a>(ENG)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span>(MEDICEAN (GB) x GRAND SLAM x ROYAL ACADEMY) bred and trained by tyedye<\/strong><\/i> (The Big Oil Conglomerate [Ft. LordPye], 14%) Style: E\/P Odds: 10-1<\/span> The last time she faced a field this big was also the last time she tried a graded stakes.\u00a0 The results then were not good, but Big Oil expects something different this time, and he has reason to be hopeful.\u00a0 Her last race, only three weeks ago, was a four-horse overnight, and that usually doesn’t impress us.\u00a0 But it was against the boys and she closed ground on a runaway graded-winner who would likely be favored against this field.\u00a0 Only once has the Yanta Snez been won by one with odds these long, and she would have to improve her lifetime speed number by over 10 points to win this, so it ain’t likely, but it could happen.\u00a0 You heard it here first.<\/span> PP 5 <\/font><\/span>ELITE WINE R<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/a>(KY)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span>(MR. GREELEY x A.P. INDY x MR. PROSPECTOR) bred by fleetwood<\/strong><\/i>, trained by eliteracing<\/strong><\/i> (Elite Racing Stables, 22%) Style: E\/P Odds: 8-1<\/span> Mr. Greeley has had more success producing sprinters than routers, and after a couple of routes where Wine couldn’t finish in the front half of the field, she returns to a one-turn race.\u00a0 Through last August she looked awfully good in such races.\u00a0 A 79\u00a0 speed figure was pretty quick back then for a two-year-old filly, and if we can extrapolate that to where she should be now, we get a figure that makes her competitive.\u00a0 85% of her earnings came in that last sprint.\u00a0 Hmm, it seems the biggest reason to like her is what she did on a sloppy track five months ago.\u00a0 That doesn’t instill a lot of confidence.<\/span> PP 6 \u00a0<\/span><\/span>BRUSHBACK PITCH<\/strong><\/font><\/span><\/a>(KY)<\/font> <\/strong><\/span><\/span>(SMART STRIKE x BROAD BRUSH x SECRETARIAT) bred and trained by mklove<\/strong><\/i> (Shamrock Stables, 12%) Style E Odds; 3-1 What a tough call here.\u00a0 Brushback has had no trouble beating a couple of Dubai fields in her first two starts, winning for fun. This filly has the highest last-out figure in the field, and according to some, she looked like she could have run faster if she needed to.\u00a0\u00a0 I’ll let her prove a bit more before I recommend her, but, wow, she’d be no surprise.<\/span>