Horse racing: Today at Del Mar, July 28

By Richard Eng

Post Time 2:05 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

8 Power Broker – Bob Baffert has a 3-prong uncoupled entry, all for Gary and Mary West; this one is the first choice of Rafael Bejarano.

1 Dry Summer – Liked his debut despite an off the board finish; Jeff Mullins babies do improve with more experience.

Long Shot – 2 Cameo Appearance

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $28,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Kalk Bay – Claimed from Mike Mitchell by Caesar Dominguez; tough to improve a horse over Mitchell, but a repeat race may be good enough.

8 Roman Charity – Was flattered when Elizabeth A won next out; claimed by Keith Craigmyle, which will help you in the value department.

Long Shot – 4 Blue Samurai

Race 3 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

8 Awesome Annie – Was dueled into submission last time in the debut of Executiveprivilege; can be ridden with more patience tonight.

4 Tanya Marie – FTS from Steve Miyadi; like the fact he drilled this horse up in Golden Gate, but opted to debut in tougher Del Mar MSW.

Long Shot – 6 Boller Bomb

Race 4 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up

1 God Of War – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; ran OK long in both of his U.S. races.

5 Nearly Was Mine – Big rider switch to Victor Espinoza for the money shot; showed good energy in last off a 7-month hiatus.

Long Shot – 11 Everlasting Man

Race 5 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $71,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up

2 Robbie’s War – Ran well in return from a 7-month hiatus; good enough to try stakes company for Jim Cassidy, might surprise at a price.

3 Gab Power – Is the highest rated horse in the race, but refuses to win; impossible to leave out of your vertical wagers.

Long Shot – 5 Antidote

Race 6 – 7 furlongs, $200,000 Fleet Treat, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds

2 Starlight Magic – Chance to upset with a crafty ride by Rafael Bejarano; like the turn back in distance from route to elonagated sprint.

6 Willa B Awesome – Ran poorly in the Hollywood Oaks while trying open company; chance she may be regressing off a hard campaign.

Long Shot – 1 River Kiss

Race 7 – 1 mile, Purse $71,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

8 Zafeen’s Pearl – Good third in U.S. debut in the Vanity Handicap; this is clearly class relief and could step forward again.

7 Flashy Dame – Tepid chalk in a wide open affair; broke her MSW by daylight, may play catch me if you can again tonight.

Long Shot – 4 Koko Loca

Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles, $200,000 San Diego Handicap, 3-year-olds and up

6 Prayer for Relief – It’s becoming an upset if Bob Baffert does not win a graded stakes in SoCal; this one’s not bad for his B squad.

1 Kettle Corn – Tough nosed grinder has been tackling the best of the SoCal handicap division; hard to get past all the Bob Baffert horses.

Long Shot – 4 John Scott

Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $40,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

9 Royal Meridian – Edge due to consistent 5-of-5 in the money; interesting sideways trainer switch to Mike Pupye from Julio Canani.

5 Smoken Legacy – I don’t typically like recent graduates; key is he won so easily and now Kristin Mulhall protects him from being claimed.

Long Shot – 4 Mojo Workin

Race 10 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

9 Affrettando – Made a monster move last time and gave it up late; suspect Garrett Gomez would admit he may have moved too soon.

8 Jaco Red – Stretching out around 2-turns for the first time; big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano for the money shot.

Long Shot – 4 Surely Swift

Best Bet – 9 Royal Meridian (race 9)

Del Mar Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 14/3/$14.00; Long Shots, 8/1/$13.20; Best Bet, 1/1/$2.80

Del Mar Totals – 129/33/$176.20; Long Shots, 67/7/$69.20; Best Bets, 7/5/$20.80

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #1 Peace Preserver (3/1) in race 10 at Monmouth Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Shakeira was scratched at Saratoga. Stats – 114/80/$690.30; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick