Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Oct. 13

By Richard Eng

Post Time 1 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

6 Miss Well Molded – Exits a sharp MSW win last out; good value at 8/1 odds in a wide open opener.

2 Roses for Joni – Tepid chalk lost all chance at the start in last; key vote is Rafael Bejarano remains loyal to the cause.

Long Shot – 5 Marlenadarlena

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $50,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds

3 He’s Not too Shaby – Jeff Mullins is always a facotr on Cal Cup day; ran well in debut, not seen from since.

2 Back to Bako – Favorite was roaring down the stretch in debut to just miss; Joe Talamo had choices and landed here.

Long Shot – 1 Alydidit

Race 3 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

6 Cat Meeting – Could complete a Jeff Mullins-Rafael Bejarano daily double; big improvement since arriving from Arapahoe Park.

8 Affrettando – Dead late closer got the trip he needed to graduate; suspect a fair pace gives him a puncher’s chance.

Long Shot – 1 Gurnick

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $50,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 2-year-olds

8 Sophie’s Secret – Beaten favorite finds a similar group to defeat; tactical speed to sit a nice trip.

2 Jeanne Marini – FTS has good speed pedigree for Mike Machowsky; watch the tote board for additional clues.

Long Shot – 5 Tiz a Kiss

Race 5 – 1 1/16th miles, $250,000 Bob Benoit California Cup Juvenile, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds

3 The Humancomplaint – Among many babies stretching out around 2-turns for the first time; could be a stagger fest home.

4 Monument – Steady improvement in 3 races for John Sadler; went 2-turns at Fairplex if that counts for anything.

Long Shot – 6 Ballard Ruler

Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 8 feet), $100,000 John Deere California Cup Distaff, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Tiz Flirtatious – Been away 9-months, but showed plenty of talent back then; first time turf today.

11 Unusual Hottie – Dead late closer was flattered when Halo Dolly won next time out; cuts back in distance for this.

Long Shot – 10 Best Present Ever

Race 7 – 6 furlongs, $100,000 Donald Valpredo California Cup Sprint, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

9 Derby Gold – Bob Baffert sends out only 2 in the Cal Cup; expect them to be live or he wouldn’t be here at all.

3 Mensa Heat – Hard knocking veteran remains winless this year; ran awful in the Cal Cup Sprint last year.

Long Shot – 2 Bench Points

Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 8 feet), $100,000 John Deere California Cup Distaff, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

10 Sugarinthemorning – Good tactical speed to sit a trip; has proven she doesn’t need the lead to succeed.

4 Madoffwiththemoney – Speedball got crushed last time in a suicidal 43 second half mile; can be a lot tougher in front today.

Long Shot – 1 Bella Viaggia

Race 9 – 1 1/16th miles, $175,000 Lava Man California Cup Classic, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

1 Holladay Road – Third start off a 3-month hiatus; key is the two best races of his life came over Santa Anita dirt.

7 John Scott – Logical chalk figures to get way overbet; solid resume is missing one thing, a good race on organic dirt.

Long Shot – 3 Rousing Sermon

Race 10 – 1 1/16th miles, $250,000 Keith E Card California Cup Juvenile Fillies, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

9 Tilde – I like horses that win and run a lower Beyer; among many racing around 2-turns for the first time.

3 Cotton’s Point – Trying to improve on three seconds in a row; tactical speed to sit a good trip.

Long Shot – 10 Graduator

Best Bet – 1 Holladay Road (race 9)

Santa Anita Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 13/6/$87.40; Long Shots, 7/1/$4.80; Best Bet, 1/1/$2.80

Santa Anita Totals – 176/40/$310.60; Long Shots, 90/15/$140.00; Best Bets, 10/3/$9.20

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #8 Lode Lady (9/2) in race 6 at Keeneland. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Beau Choix won at Belmont Park paying $6.60 to win, $3.60 to place and $2.50 to show. Stats – 151/107/$941.30; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick