Olmodavor Good to Go in San Pasqual; Congaree Passes

(from Santa Anita notes)
Olmodavor will be five years old when he runs in Saturday's $150,000 San Pasqual Handicap (Gr. II) for older horses, but the son A.P. Indy will be making only his 10th career start.

"He's not easy to keep sound," trainer Richard Mandella said Wednesday morning. "He's had his troubles through the years but when he's there he's good and he's good right now."

Olmodavor won the Native Diver (Gr. III) at Hollywood Park on Dec. 6, taking the nine-furlong race after a fifth-place finish in a 6 ½-furlong allowance sprint at Santa Anita on Oct. 26.

"I was kind of experimenting there to see what he'd do," Mandella said of the sprint. "But it wasn't what he wanted to do and he showed that when he came back long."

Bob Baffert said Congaree, assigned high weight of 125 pounds, would not run in the San Pasqual. The trainer said he had no race in mind for the Cigar Mile (gr. I) winner.

Probable for the San Pasqual: Grey Memo, no rider, 115; Hot Market, David Flores, 115; Nose The Trade, Pat Valenzuela, 114; Olmodavor, Alex Solis, 118; Star Cross, Victor Espinoza, 113; Total Impact, Mike Smith, 116; and Truly A Judge, no rider, 113.