Horse Racing
March 20, 2011 - 1:04 am
TODAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds
1 Stormin Proud Papa – Claimed and double dropped in class by Dan Hendricks; these foes are his friends.
4 Tiger Trysts – Ran like a horse that needed a race in last; can improve in second start off a 5-month hiatus.
Long Shot – 2 Courtside
Race 2 – 7 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up
6 Forward Commitment – Hard to get excited about this pick who is 0-for-18; still his speed figures merit attention.
9 Clocker Moment – Dead-late closer gets Garrett Gomez to ride in this bottom-level maiden claimer; must mean something.
Long Shot – 7 Warrens Wild Thing
Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $54,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds
3 Midnight Interlude – Did everything but win last time out; repeat race is fast enough to beat these.
4 Grip Hands – Was heavily favored in debut; returned in last off a 3-month hiatus like a horse needing a race.
Long Shot – 2 Brock
Race 4 – 1 1/2 miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), $150,000 San Luis Rey, 4-year-olds and up
8 Dahoud – The maestro Jerry Hollendorfer has carefully nurtured this New Zealand import; now he’s ready to tackle toughies.
6 Restless Soul – SoCal veteran returns off a 5-month hiatus under Neil Drysdale; big shot to outrun his high odds.
Long Shot – 7 Juniper Pass
Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $59,000, Allowance, 4-year-olds and up
6 Capital Account – He won both his races at Del Mar like he’s a special horse; Bob Baffert has an uncoupled entry here.
4 Irrefutable – Do not expect the Baffert horses to duel; his win two back is the pace scenario for today.
Long Shot – 7 Sanger Silver
Race 6 – 7 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds
8 River’s Mambo – Showed great improvement off the claim by Julio Canani; could improve another step tonight.
2 Whiskers and Rye – The fact that Rafael Bejarano remains loyal speaks volumes; big improvement last time out.
Long Shot – 5 She’sawontontomato
Race 7 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $34,000, Claiming $32,000, 4-year-olds
5 Time for Atonement – May get some value becausing claiming from Jerry Hollendorfer is a tough thing; reunited with Joel Rosario.
4 Very Fair – Logical chalk dropping down one notch in class; tactical speed to sit a perfect trip.
Long Shot – 11 Keen Bidder
Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs, $100,000 Santa Paula, Fillies, 3-year-olds
8 Mildly Offensive – Superb debut was flattered when Home Sweet Aspen won next out; like the parking lot post too.
5 Hout Bay – Closed from the clouds to graduate in debut; could very easily be a chalk exacta, speed and closer.
Long Shot – 6 Justenufappeal
Race 9 – 7 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up
6 Matamor – Ran OK first off the claim by Doug O’Neill; drop in class makes him a solid favorite in here.
9 Cut n’ Deal – Whenever P Val takes over for the first time, the horse improves; he’ll put him into the race for sure.
Long Shot – 4 Bay Rush
Best Bet – 8 Mildly Offensive (race 8)
Santa Anita Park Saturday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 20/7/$39.40; Long Shots, 9/1/$4.80; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.40
Santa Anita Park Totals – 857/237/$1,509.90; Long Shots, 430/64/$629.20; Best Bets, 50/22/$89.10
SIMULCAST PICK OF THE DAY – 5 Endless Expanse (7/2) in race 10 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Rahystrada ran second at Tampa Bay Downs paying $6.80 to place and $5.00 to show. Stats – 48/35/$276.20