HORSE RACING
November 26, 2011 - 2:00 am
Today at HOLLYWOOD PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $27,000, Claiming $20,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds
1 Queenie Marini – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; 3-YO can be useful to a new barn.
3 Hi Ho Yodeler – Another joining the cull list after a huge drop in class; need not be much to handle this motley crew.
Long Shot – 4 Memo to Kathy
Race 2 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up
2 Lord’s Minister – Showed good early speed up at Golden Gate; chance to be lone early speed if Rafael Bejarano asks.
4 Fordham Road – Sight unseen since a beaten favorite in career debut 6-months ago; John Shirreffs barn is hot right now.
Long Shot – 6 Twin Six
Race 3 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds
3 Twelve Folds – Big run in career debut when 3-lengths clear of third; one step of improvement wins this.
7 Vicki Victoria – Two good seconds facing tougher at Del Mar; Mike Harrington barn appears full of nice 2-YOs.
Long Shot – 8 Speedway Monkey
Race 4 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $30,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up
3 Waltzing With Blue – Claimed by Robertino Diodoro and spotted nicely to win; resume suggests he can dominate in here.
8 Porfido – Ran a clunker in last after game back to back wins; has run well at times over Inglewood sod.
Long Shot – 6 El Merito
Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $34,000, Claiming $32,000, 2-year-olds
2 Nate Dawg – Regressed off a sharp maiden claiming win at Fairplex; sleeper can outrun his generous odds.
6 Warren’s Clyde – Craig Lewis is tossing in the kitchen sink; blinkers on, cut back in distance and big class drop.
Long Shot – 9 Warren’s Bandit
Race 6 – 6 furlongs, $100,000 Vernon O. Underwood, 3-year-olds and up
1 Pacific Ocean – Eastern invader is a proven lover of synthetic surfaces; Mike Mitchell and Joel Rosario are double tough.
9 M One Rifle – Exiting a decent third in a fast paced Cal Cup Sprint; should be able to stalk a perfect wide out trip.
Long Shot – 7 Carbonite
Race 7 – 6 furlongs (turf), Purse $48,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up
4 Blue Jay Attack – Dead late closer is reunited with Rafael Bejarano; second start off an 8-month hiatus.
5 Via Verde – Michael Pender has already won himself out on this claim; well suited to rebound in this turf sprint.
Long Shot – 7 Mandated Bliss
Race 8 – 7 furlongs, Purse $48,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up
5 Smart Spending – Has come to hand for trainer Carla Gaines; suspect he won’t be running for a price tag any time soon.
4 Leothelion – I like horses that won last out while running a lower Beyer number; tactical speed to sit just off the lead.
Long Shot – 3 Clear
Race 9 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), $250,000 Citation Handicap, 3-year-olds and up
2 Jeranimo – Was ill suited to perform in the BC Mile; this is his home turf and a rebound appears in the cards.
9 John Johny Jak – Game nose win over a tough 43/1 long shot in last; the result was deceiving due to the slow early pace.
Long Shot – 4 Leroy’s Dynameaux
Race 10 – 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
11 Seek the Light – Good SoCal debut as a beaten favorite; can be tighter in second race off a 2-month hiatus.
6 Nonrefundable – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; his race two back was OK with these.
Long Shot – 13 Onebadboy
Best Bet – 2 Jeranimo (race 9)
Hollywood Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/5/$23.20; Long Shots, 9/3/$37.40; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Hollywood Park Totals – 160/51/$311.40; Long Shots, 80/9/$94.60; Best Bets, 10/4/$13.60
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #8 Customer Base (7/2) in race 9 at Churchill Downs. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Arena Elvira was scratched at Aqueduct paying $5.40 to win, $3.30 to place and $2.30 to show. Stats – 179/116/$926.20. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick