Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Oct. 19
Today at Santa Anita
By Richard Eng
Post Time 1 p.m.
Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $28,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
3 Field Report – Ran huge first off the claim by Bill Spawr; 4-YO was always well regarded, put it together for a new barn.
5 Baby Blake – Daylight graduation first off the claim by Peter Miller; he also is facing winners for the first time.
Long Shot – 7 My Slew
Race 2 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Claiming $32,000, 3-year-olds and up
2 Nextdoorneighbor – Bob Baffert may have been surprised to not lose this guy in last; won easily, well spotted to repeat.
6 Solar Rocket – Ran miserably at Fairplex in last; has a solid dirt resume, that’s what stands out to me.
Long Shot – 3 Luckarack
Race 3 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $23,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up
1 Moment of Weakness – With the turf rail out 24 feet, let’s try a sprinter stretching out; expect Edwin Maldonato to send hard.
8 Street Rocket – Tepid chalk in a wide open race; in great form exiting two wins, has started only once on grass.
Long Shot – 6 Warrens Wild Thing
Race 4 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds
9 Sense of a Woman – Doug O’Neill has an uncoupled entry and both are live; sliding down the maiden claiming ladder for this.
12 Funny Gal – Parking lot post may not matter in a race full of slowpokes; claimed by John Sadler at Fairplex, what gives?
Long Shot – 1 Amy’s Cashin In
Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $47,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up
9 Mikey T – Was well bet in debut and ran evenly; key vote for me is Garrett Gomez riding for Mike Pupye.
6 Guest Star – John Shirreffs has an uncoupled entry, this is the longer odds colt; Victor Espinoza is zero for Santa Anita.
Long Shot – 5 Our Lucky Son
Race 6 – 1 mile, Purse $16,000, Claiming $8,000, 3-year-olds and up
1 Low Gear Power – Could not overcome a poor start and parking lot post in last; draws the rail to save all the ground.
10 Asset Play – Claimed at Del Mar by Vann Belvoir and sat on since; has back class to handle this bottom level group.
Long Shot – 6 Streets of Heaven
Race 7 – 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $53,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
4 Camelia Rose – Taking a huge class drop in a confidence builder; Mario Gutierrez needs to show his stuff.
3 Hard to Resist – Filly is surprisingly put up for a $62,500 price tag; only a 4-YO, plenty of tread left on the tires.
Long Shot – 2 Romantic Wish
Race 8 – 6 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
12 Courageousandbold – Tough trip in last including a wide post; showed real improvement in first start off a 5-month hiatus.
6 Bull Rush – Showed some gumption in last two dirt starts at Fairplex; one step of improvement will put her in the hunt.
Long Shot – 4 Quiet Sunshine
Best Bet – 3 Field Report (race 1)
Santa Anita Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/4/$25.20; Long Shots, 8/1/$5.80; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Santa Anita Totals – 227/49/$390.60; Long Shots, 117/20/$213.80; Best Bets, 13/3/$9.20
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #3 Welcome Dance (6/1) in race 9 at Keeneland. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Inaugurate won at Belmont Park paying $4.30 to win, $3.10 to place and $2.40 to show. Stats – 154/108/$951.10; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick