HORSE RACING

TODAY AT SANTA ANITA

By Richard Eng

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

6 Midnight Transfer – Second best to a talented colt Norm’s Passion; key will be beating the 3 headed Bob Baffert entry.

2 Clearly a Cowboy – Mike Pupye adding blinkers on for this; his babies typically improve with experience.

Long Shot – 1 Frenemy

Race 2 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $30,000, Claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds and up

1 Porfido – Like a winner that ran a slower Beyer; ground saving trip for P Val in going for 3 in a row on grass.

3 Winsome Charm – Was placed first in this class two races ago; has enough tactical speed to sit a decent stalking trip.

Long Shot – 8 Stoneside

Race 3 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $27,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

5 Imperial Pride – Third start off a 14-month hiatus; appears to be improving for Bob Hess, chance in an open affair.

1 Private Bounty – Has burned a lot of money as a beaten chalk in 4-of-5 races; yet he runs fast enough to beat these.

Long Shot – 7 Gregor

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, $250,000 Ancient Title, 3-year-olds and up

1 The Factor – 3-YO facing his elders for Bob Baffert; he’s a talented colt who is extremely quick, clearly the one to catch.

5 Amazombie – Returns to Santa Anita where he ran great this winter; can sit a trip and try the chalk in the deep stretch.

Long Shot – 4 Irrefutable

Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $48,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up

7 Caught a Flyer – Toughest race on the card kicks off the pick 6; returns to grass, his preferred surface.

4 Quintons Destiny – Could do worse than throw a dart at Mike Mitchell charge; hard to separate the field from top to bottom.

Long Shot – 8 El Mirage King

Race 6 – 6 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds

6 Moonlighting – Mike Mitchell babies improve with experience; ran well in debut, slight move forward will be enough.

8 Getting Lucky – He regressed at Del Mar after OK races at Hollywood; we’ll see which horse shows up tonight.

Long Shot – 1 San Sebastian

Race 7 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), $65,000 Swingtime, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

3 Andina – Has a solid 7-of-8 in the money mark over Santa Anita sod; edge in a fairly nondescript field.

7 All Star Heart – Game try in the Palomar while facing much tougher; class relief can be enough to edge these.

Long Shot – 5 Victoryasecret

Race 8 – 6 furlongs, Purse $15,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

5 Teenage Dancer – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; third start off a 5-month hiatus.

7 Mona Storm – Grinder is winless this year among 8 starts; every race she runs is even, may inherit the lead late.

Long Shot – 10 Gotham Spirit

Race 9 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), $150,000 Oak Tree Mile, 3-year-olds and up

6 Mr. Commons – Did everything but win last out in the Del Mar Mile; John Shirreffs thinks the world of his potential.

3 John Johny Jak – Florida invader has proven his mettle in minor SoCal stakes; steps up in class, maybe good enough.

Long Shot – 5 Jeranimo

Race 10 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $22,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

7 Punch Drunk – Sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to this career low; chased Weemissfrankie in her career debut.

12 Warren’s Wanna Be – Been well bet in both career starts; shown enough early speed to be forwardly placed.

Long Shot – 10 Hanserella

Best Bet – 1 The Factor (race 4)

Santa Anita Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/7/$45.40; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.00

Santa Anita Totals – 87/26/$168.40; Long Shots, 44/6/$72.00; Best Bets, 5/3/$17.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #11 Take Charge Lady (5/1) in race 8 at Keeneland. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Dodging ran second at Belmont Park paying $4.30 to place and $2.60 to show. Stats – 154/101/$794.80