American Oaks Picks —Betting Preview and Predictions (Dec 28)

The Santa Anita card on December 28 is headlined by the G1 American Oaks. A talented field of eleven fillies aged three will compete on the turf over 1 ¼ miles, with a purse of $300,000 up for grabs. Find our picks for the major race here.

Odds

American Oaks Recent Winners

American Oaks: Event Information

Race Preview

Talented fillies will be in action in the featured race from Santa Anita on December 28, as the American Oaks will be run across 1 ¼ miles. This Grade One boasts a purse of $300,000, with Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, and John Shirreffs tied for the most race wins (3).

A number of last-time-out winners will be involved at Santa Anita, including A Thousand Miles, who was last seen winning the Zia Park Oaks. However, the strength of that form looks questionable. As Catch Can could prove to be an interesting angle after winning the Old Dominion Oaks last time out with a speed figure of 93.

The Autumn Miss Stakes is well represented this weekend, with Take A Breath finishing sixth and Slick taking fifth in that recent Grade Three. The latter should be capable of at least maintaining that form.

Will Then could be the value play based on the speed ratings. The Jonathan Thomas runner will have Flavien Prat aboard, and she was an eye-catching sixth in the G3 Red Carpet Stakes last time out, taking a high speed figure of 114. She also has previous form at Santa Anita after winning the China Doll Stakes at the track in March.

American Oaks Picks

Atsila could be the class angle in the American Oaks this weekend. The three-year-old, previously trained in Ireland by Donnacha O’Brien, is a two-time winner on the turf, and has previous winning experience in stakes company.

She held her own in high-quality races in Europe last season, finishing third in the G1 Matron Stakes and taking a respectable sixth in a red-hot G1 Sun Chariot. Those are the best pieces of form on offer in this race.