Today at Del Mar, Aug. 18
August 17, 2013 - 11:49 pm
TODAY AT DEL MAr
By Richard Eng
Post Time 2:05 p.m.
Race 1 – 1 Mile (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $53,000, Claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
2 Boller Bomb – Claimed by Peter Miller, who has an uncoupled entry in here; like that Garrett Gomez is riding in top form.
4 Upward Spiral – Racing first time for a price tag, $40K tonight; on the drop while others are on the rise.
Long Shot – 1 Rhodium
Race 2 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $28,000, Claiming $12,500, 3-year-olds and up
2 Royal Meridian – Switching barns to the white hot Doug O’Neill from Mike Pupye; no one said this game is fair.
5 Keyboard Courage – Claimed by Mike Pender and spotted nicely to win first out; Victor Espinoza is coming on this meet.
Long Shot – 6 Peacenik
Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $28,000, Claiming $12,500, 3-year-olds and up
2 Fear the Beard – More love for Doug O’Neill runners; sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class.
7 Big Wags – Made a huge run but flattened out late; drops in class to face his friends at this low level.
Long Shot – 4 A Day Away
Race 4 – 6 1/2 furlongs, $150,000 Rancho Bernardo, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
1 Reneesgotzip – She was an easy winner of her comeback race in last; facing a soft group, it clearly is her race to lose.
4 Curvy Cat – Dead late closer figures to sit in arrears and make one run; suspect it may be good enough for second.
Long Shot – 5 Sweet Marini
Race 5 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $77,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
1 Kid Dreams – Ran evenly in return to SoCal last time; switches to Gary Stevens who will save ground for the money shot.
7 Tom’s Tribute – Favorite in a harder than looks turf route; showed lots of potential last out in his grass debut.
Long Shot – 4 Somethings Unusual
Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $48,000, Claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds and up
6 Hadfunlastnight – Could Doug O’Neill win an equador, or even more races, tonight; incredible how hot the barn is going now.
8 Gnarly Dude – Second start off the claim by John Sadler; speedball will like the slight drop in class too.
Long Shot – 9 Coo Cachoo
Race 7 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 2-year-olds
7 Spring Agan – The field is all FTS except for one horse; this one from Wesley Ward who is an accomplished baby trainer.
10 Wild Caroline – Has been working up a storm for Mike Pupye; will hold value as Bob Baffert has a 3-prong uncoupled entry.
Long Shot – 9 Bosserette
Race 8 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 7 feet), $150,000 Solana Beach Handicap, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
4 Heat Trap – Had a pocket trip in last before busting out too late; perfect prep for first stakes try, high ceiling for sure.
1 Unusual Hottie – Proven Cal-bred star in this turf division; will save all the ground under Joe Talamo.
Long Shot – 2 Halo Dotty
Race 9 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds
5 Tamarando – Showed good improvement in second career start for the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; one more step forward does it.
4 Time to Go Robo – Walther Solis has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor; both are live so watch the tote board for clues.
Long Shot – 10 Even to the Moon
Race 10 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up
5 Red Vine – After two preps in NY, is sent out to devour this group by Christophe Clement; was favored in both eastern starts.
2 Just Fishin – Getting a little long in the tooth, but has ability to upset; tactical speed to sit a trip for Julien Leparoux.
Long Shot – 3 Maxx the Giant
Best Bet – 1 Reneesgotzip (race 4)
Del Mar Saturday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 19/5/$32.80; Long Shots, 9/2/$16.60; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Del Mar Totals – 398/90/$683.40; Long Shots, 193/25/$286.40; Best Bets, 24/4/$17.80
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #2 Tapicat (9/5) in race 8 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, The Apache ran second at Arlington Park paying $7.80 to place and $5.60 to show. Stats – 138/91/$742.20; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick