ARCADIA — Big ’Cap day doesn’t feel as big as usual to many people after the Santa Anita Handicap field was reduced in number and quality by the scratches of two headline horses.

But try telling Florent Geroux it’s not a huge day.

Geroux has a shot at a giant afternoon Saturday at Santa Anita when he rides favorites Just a Touch in the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap, the historic race for 4-year-olds and up, and Brant in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes, for 3-year-old Kentucky Derby prospects.

“I have some very nice mounts tomorrow,” said Geroux, who also has 6-1 Bless the Broken facing odds-on Splendora in the Grade I B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile and 8-1 Astronomer in the Grade II Frank E. Kilroe Mile on turf. “I hope I can win some races.”

Geroux, a 39-year-old native of Argentan, France, has won more than 2,300 races in North America, including the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar with Gun Runner. He’s officially a Kentucky Derby winner, but he didn’t actually get to enjoy the moment of triumph at Churchill Downs because Mandaloun’s victory in 2021 came via the disqualification of Medina Spirit months later. He moved to California from Louisiana this winter in hope of finding a strong Derby mount for 2026.

Saturday, Geroux could accomplish that and more.

Brant – a son of Gun Runner who cost owner Amr Zedan $3 million at a 2-year-old auction – makes his 3-year-old debut in the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe as an even-money favorite on the morning line based on his victory in the Del Mar Futurity and his third to Ted Noffey and Mr. A.P. in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. Other threats in the seven-horse San Felipe, like So Happy, Secured Freedom and Potente, have more to prove. The winner will bank 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and all but clinch a spot in the 20-horse Derby starting gate May 2 no matter what happens in the Santa Anita Derby on April 4.

Geroux hasn’t ridden Brant in a race but was aboard in a workout for trainer Bob Baffert.

“He’s a very nice horse, a lot of class,” Geroux said between races at Santa Anita on Friday. “He’s coming off the layoff, that’s the only thing. He’s run two turns already. He ran a brave third in the Breeders’ Cup (Juvenile) last year. Hopefully he’s tight enough and ready enough for this race.

“I’m not saying he’s 100% cranked up, but he’s ready. He’s not a big, heavy horse, so I don’t think he needs much preparation.”

It looked as if Geroux had a Derby horse with Baffert when he rode Plutarch to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February, but Plutarch has since been sidelined. Now it’s up to Brant.

Just a Touch, trained in Florida by Brad Cox, is 3-2 on a morning line posted after Skippylongstocking was scratched on Tuesday but before Westwood was declared out on Thursday. That a 5-year-old who has yet to win at the stakes level is favored in the Big ’Cap shows how weak the five-horse field appears, with Getaway Car, Vodka Vodka, British Isles and Midnight Mammoth the competition.

“I think it’s a great spot for him,” Geroux said of Just a Touch. “It’s his (second) time at this distance (1¼ miles), and I think he should appreciate more ground. He ran a good race last time (second in the Grade III Louisiana Stakes). He ran wide and was barely defeated.

“It’s not the toughest Grade I in the world. I’m hoping he can get it done. It would be a huge one to win.”

Santa Anita’s 11-race card starts earlier than usual at noon.

The Santa Anita Handicap picks here: 1. Just a Touch, 2. Getaway Car, 3. British Isles

The San Felipe picks: 1. Brant, 2. So Happy, 3. Secured Freedom

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