Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Jan. 10

Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 – 1 mile, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds
5 Cheekaboo – She is clearly the fastest filly in the race; both her races were on grass, so the $64,000 question is will she transfer that talent onto the main track.
3 Clara’s Dream – I like horses that train and run over the Tapeta surface at Golden Gate; she should be dead fit and ready to run despite speed figures that are so-so.
Long Shot – 2 Treacherous Trip
Race 2 – 1 mile, Purse $30,000, Starter allowance $40,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
5 Miss Star Maker – Has the strongest dirt resume of this motley crew; the key for me is if she can repeat her race from Del Mar two back, where she galloped by 12-lengths.
4 Blondy’s Reward – Her last three starts have been on turf and were OK efforts; she broke her maiden at Del Mar and has a couple other starts that are OK.
Long Shot – 2 Bijoux
Race 3 – 1 1/8th miles, Purse $32,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up
3 Dustin’s Passion – Made his SoCal a winning one for trainer Peter Eurton; has back class from racing at Midwest tracks to handle this modest class rise tonight.
1 Sizzlin’ Joe – Has never raced on the main track, but he trains over it; at 9-furlongs this is going to be a gallopers race so the hardy ones will finish.
Long Shot – 2 Muchos Besos
Race 4 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, 4-year-olds and up
3 Vartan – Two of his last three races are fast enough to beat these; don’t know what happened to him two races back, but the other races he showed speed and fought hard.
6 Thunder Basin – Tepid chalk in arguably the hardest race on the card; at least since it’s the first leg of the Pick 6 you will be able to see the betting odds.
Long Shot – 4 He’s a Real Keeper
Race 5 – 7 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up
1 Born to Serve – After 18 years, you should know how much I like cutback horses; this one has a lot of early speed too, can control this from the get go.
3 Dynamite Ride – Third start off the claim by trainer Peter Miller; has finished twice in a row and now takes an important class drop, clearly a major contender.
Long Shot – 7 Henry’s Holiday
Race 6 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
6 Cadet Roni – Morning line favorite is cutting back in distance to this elongated sprint; suspect Rafael Bejarano can settle just off the pace and save some energy.
3 Yana – Gets class relief from the Betty Grable for this; another horse cutting back in distance, this kind seem to do best settling off the pace and finishing well.
Long Shot – 1 So Sweetitiz
Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $20,000, Claiming $16,000, 4-year-olds and up
2 Ain’t Misbehavin – If you have watched jockey Santiago Gonzalez ride you know he is very talented; should be able to sit a nice trip from the two post.
6 Benba – All of his best races have come on grass; trainer A. C. Avila can be pretty tricky, I know this that he very seldom uses jockey Rafael Bejarano.
Long Shot – 8 The Gold Monkey
Race 8 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
8 Sheer Pleasure – Gets class relief after a busy 2015 schedule of stakes races; is cutting back in distance where she should be able to finish pretty well.
9 Lily Pod – Chance to be lone early speed, the most dangerous bet in horse racing; this is a really hot barn too in trainer Richard Baltas.
Long Shot – 2 Conquest Flatterme
Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
4 Madame Mousse – This is my final day of handicapping for you after 18 years; I wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all who have followed me.
9 Moonie – I respect your opinions and comments over the years; it’s been fun for me, hopefully for you too, and bottomline profitable from playing the ponies.
Long Shot –10 Chalk of the Town
Best Bet – 6 Cadet Roni (race 6)
Santa Anita Saturday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/4/$15.80; Long Shots, 9/2/$21.60; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.20
Santa Anita Totals – 164/34/$216.60; Long Shots, 85/11/$143.20; Best Bets, 8/1/$3.20
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #8 Red Razzo (20/1) in race 8 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Key to Power ran out at Gulfstream Park. Simo stats – 10/2/$15.70; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick