How to bet the 2024 La Canada Stakes

A total of six fillies and mares will take aim on the $100,000 La Canada S. (G3) at Santa Anita on Saturday. The Bob Baffert-trained #6 Midnight Memories toppled #4 Desert Dawn in the Bayakoa S. (G3) at Los Alamitos last time out, and I am expecting a similar type of result once again.

La Canada Wagers

$30 exacta 6 with 4 ($30)
$10 trifecta key 6 with 1,4 ($20)

Midnight Memories is a lightly raced daughter of Mastery who has compiled a trio of graded stakes wins to date. The dark bay five-year-old dons a 5-3-1-0 local line in preparation for this affair and the outside draw seems ideal for a mare with good tactical speed. The Kentucky-bred miss still has ample room for improvement while making just her third appearance since December of 2022, and her three morning drills leading up to Saturday hint that she will fire her best shot under the guidance of Juan Hernandez. 

Phil D’Amato’s Desert Dawn is far from a win machine but ran a winning race in defeat most recently. The consistently good daughter of Cupid has run some of the better races in her career on this surface, and I like that she has improved her Brisnet Speed figure in a pair of races in succession. She was beaten by just 1 1/2 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) two back, has solid form with runner-up results in three out of her last four assignments, and she will benefit from picking up top gun Flavien Prat for Saturday. 

The Grade-1 placed #1 Musical Mischief might inherit the early lead in the contest for conditioner Mike McCarthy. This Into Mischief four-year-old has shown nice improvement since having blinkers removed three starts back, and she looked strong in her 11-length allowance romp at Churchill Downs two back. The Kentucky-bred bay goes turf-to-dirt in the event and could get brave in the stretch if she is allowed to dictate the race early on from the rail. Umberto Rispoli will be in the stirrups aboard the interesting prospect.