Today at Santa Anita: Oct. 13, 2014
October 12, 2014 - 10:34 pm
TODAY AT SANTA ANITA by Richard Eng
Post Time 1 p.m.
Race 1 – 1 mile, Purse $17,000, Claiming $8,000, 3-year-olds and up
6 Usbek Thunder – Ran fast enough to beat this group in last; just needs to repeat that good performance.
1 Tucker’s Point – Expect a ground saving trip throughout; his last win came at Santa Anita last February.
Long Shot – 2 Diamondsdiplomat
Race 2 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $27,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
2 Candy’s Shoes – Tiny edge in a very difficult heat; taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming.
4 Spring Action – Tepid chalk in a wide open affair; also taking the class drop from MSW to maiden claiming for Mark Casse.
Long Shot – 7 Prospector Alley
Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up
2 Nowalking – Ran a worthy race last time at Del Mar; been working bullets since for Philip D’Amato, looks ready to fire.
5 Day of Fury – Bob Baffert cull has been away since January; main thing is he’s a first time gelding and has been working fast.
Long Shot – 9 Beach Fever
Race 4 – 7 furlongs, Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
2 Sam’s Sister – Perfect after two starts for the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; filly clearly has a high ceiling.
4 Clearly Confused – Looks like another solid claim by Richard Baltas; he has really come on this summer with lots of wins.
Long Shot – 8 My Sweet Addiction
Race 5 – 7 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
3 Warren’s Purrfect – Really found her best stride too late in last; first signs of waking up on the steep class drop.
8 Rosa Divina – Tepid chalk in another difficult heat; big Pick 6 carryover from an impossible card on Sunday.
Long Shot – 4 Smoke ‘n’ Whiskey
Race 6 – 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
2 Halljoy – Always allow extra chances for Rafael Bejarano riding; he finds a way to save ground and horse for the stretch run.
3 Stylish in Black – Has won 2 straight for the underrated Bobby Wayne Grayson barn; this filly has good turf ability.
Long Shot – 7 Nickels Wild
Race 7 – 6 furlongs, $100,000 Speakeasy, 2-year-olds
10 Lord Nelson – Gave a good try versus stablemate American Pharoah; Bob Baffert wanted to give this colt a confidence boost today.
6 All Indians – Rafael Bejarano subs for the injured Kent Desormeaux; expect Kent to get this mount back should it keep improving.
Long Shot – 4 Tizcano
Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $32,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up
6 Craving Carats – Peter Miller barn is cold so this drop in class makes sense; everybody likes to win races in SoCal.
5 Too Fast to Pass – Claimed by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; that is a good enough to respect, also gets the talent of Rafael Bejarano.
Long Shot – 8 Fighting On
Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
2 Wade – Big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano for the money shot; beaten favorite looks like he prefers to have a target.
11 Forest Chatter – Gets the parking lot post for Richard Mandella; key is seeing HOF Mike Smith riding in the finale.
Long Shot – 4 He’s On His Toes
Best Bet – 2 Sam’s Sister (race 4)
Santa Anita Sunday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 17/2/$9.20; Long Shots, 8/1/$7.20; Best Bet, 1/1/$4.00
Santa Anita Totals – 195/46/$274.80; Long Shots, 95/12/$161.60; Best Bets, 11/6/$23.00
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #2 Macagone (5/2) in race 4 at Belmont Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, Frank’s Officer Gal ran second at Keeneland paying $4.80 to place and $2.80 to show. Stats – 158/90/$839.20; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick