HORSE RACING: Hollywood Park, Dec. 10, 2011
Today at HOLLYWOOD PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 – 7 furlongs, Purse $21,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
5 Dish the Dirt – Dead late closer has run well at this elongated sprint distance; tiny edge in a wide open opener.
1 Perfect Finish – Ran well off the claim by Vann Belvoir; can save all the ground inside and grind it out late.
Long Shot – 2 Folk Dancer
Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Claiming $16,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
6 Lily Amore – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; tactical speed to sit a nice trip.
3 L’Enchanteresse – Like the turn back in distance from 7-furlongs to this; figures to show late energy.
Long Shot – 1 Lady Lohr
Race 3 – 6 furlongs, Purse $30,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up
6 Cardiff Giant – Returns to synthetics which may be his best surface; exits a solid bullet workout for this.
3 Daylight Storm – Been away 14-months since a win at much higher class; the main question is fitness, not quality.
Long Shot – 5 Slam Slew
Race 4 – 6 furlongs (turf), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
5 Bling Cha Bling – Expect speedball tactics under Joel Rosario; speed has held well in Inglewood turf sprints.
9 J Man – Tough post but he appears to be one of the ones; Mike Machowsky adding blinkers on, must carve out a trip.
Long Shot – 2 Janero
Race 5 – 6 furlongs, Purse $48,000, Allowance, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
7 Don Perico – Joel Rosario had choices and opted to ride for Marty Jones; be interested in the tactics used here.
2 Obsess – Logical chalk is exiting 2 bang up seconds; both races were very fast paced, should benefit from that today.
Long Shot – 4 Shred the Secrets
Race 6 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $24,000, Claiming $16,000, 3-year-olds and up
4 Joe Carl – Ran miserably in a turf stakes at Turf Paradise; he returns at his best distance, track and surface.
7 Guiding Hand – Even effort last time when dropped back down in class; if you like Joe Carl, this one is close behind.
Long Shot – 2 Joyful Success
Race 7 – 7 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
9 Out of Bounds – Was flattered when So Brilliant won next out; Eoin Harty babies usually improve with experience.
5 Brsnnaman – Beaten favorite in debut is capable of improving a lot today; from the Bob Baffert barn, watch the tote board.
Long Shot – 1 Rocket Train
Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $48,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up
6 Holladay Road – Tiny edge in a wide open turf route; figures to be among a cavalry charge to the wire.
9 Surplus – Was flattered when Visual Intensity won next out; interesting price play really took to turf first time.
Long Shot – 4 Renegade Storm
Race 9 – 1 1/16th miles, $402,000 Hollywood Starlet, Fillies, 2-year-olds
1 Weemissfrankie – Ran a better than looked race in the BC Juvenile Fillies; she should enjoy this class relief.
2 Charm the Maker – Had to work really hard to get by Killer Graces in the Sharp Cat; she is capable of big improvement.
Long Shot – 3 Lady Pecan
Race 10 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $22,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 2-year-olds
9 Fear the Beard – Like the turn back from route to sprint; figures to be a dead late closer in a moribund field.
11 War Politics – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; need not be much to compete.
Long Shot – 3 Swiss Game
Best Bet – 5 Bling Cha Bling (race 4)
Hollywood Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/5/$24.60; Long Shots, 8/2/$15.60; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.40
Hollywood Park Totals – 307/90/$539.60; Long Shots, 153/21/$276.60; Best Bets, 19/8/$29.20
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #4 Live Every Day (3/1) in race 9 at Tampa Bay. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Chickatari scratched at Aqueduct. Stats – 187/120/$956.60; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick