Today at Santa Anita Park: Feb. 17, 2014

TODAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK by Richard Eng

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 7 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up

6 Kafister – Last victory made him 2-for-2 wins over Arcadia dirt; Ron Ellis barn has been cooking hotter at Santa Anita.

3 Keyboard Courage – Leap of faith that Peter Miller has this Sunland invader ready; he’s been winning with everything else.

Long Shot – 2 Valentine Boy

Race 2 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds

3 Dublin Up – Could be a Peter Miller daily double today; hasn’t had much luck using talented Joe Talamo for some reason.

4 Garen – Uncoupled entry from Peter Miller, so he has two chances for victory; this one improved a lot in his second start.

Long Shot – 5 Big Tire

Race 3 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $20,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up

2 Tasha’s Courage – For some reason Kayla Stra has lost her momentum; replaced here by Joe Talamo, class drop helps too.

7 Bench Press – Chalk sliding down the the lowest class of his career; John Sadler using Edwin Maldonado who has cooled off.

Long Shot – 5 High On Final

Race 4 – 7 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up

3 Jet Warrior – 2-for-2 and showing solid improvement; lot of conditions available since starting for a price tag first out.

5 Toledo Eddie – Can start the Pick 6 with a carryover of $119K; has a perfect 2-for-2 win record here in Arcadia.

Long Shot – 4 Memphis

Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 3-year-olds

12 Taylor Lane – Should hold value with low percentage connections; I don’t mind Orlando Mojica and Michael Ewing.

10 La Sorella – Tepid chalk in a wide open affair; tend to like the horses with outside posts going down the hillside turf course.

Long Shot – 5 Abide In Me

Race 6 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $31,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds

4 Moscato Girl – John Sadler rarely uses Mario Gutierrez; like the cut back in distance facing an extremely slow group.

9 Warrenspoweroflove – Reverts back to a price tag which will boost her chances; like Tyler Baze, a fantastic gate rider.

Long Shot – 7 She’s Flush

Race 7 – 1 mile (turf), $200,000 Buena Vista, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

2 Egg Drop – Has won 3 straight graded stakes, all by shadow margins; could be why she keeps paying nice prices on the tote.

7 Ponchatrain – A perfect 3-for-3 over Arcadia grass; those were down the hill, so her powerful late kick must play going a mile.

Long Shot – 4 Tapicat

Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 3-year-olds

3 Rovenna – Gets class relief from a pair of stakes for this; like the cut back in distance too, should finish well today.

2 Meinertzhageni – One of two racing for a price tag in here; I kind of prefer horses who are protected by their connections.

Long Shot – 4 Wonderful Lie

Race 9 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), Purse $35,000, Claiming 432,000, 4-year-olds and up

9 Big Note – Chance to upset in a wide open finale; has good tactical speed to lead or follow close up.

7 Candy’s Sunrise – Always take note when Rafael Bejarano stays for the finale; just claimed by Vann Belvoir, expect better.

Long Shot – 11 Dixieland Blues

Best Bet – 4 Moscato Girl (race 6)

Santa Anita Park Sunday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 18/4/$33.00; Long Shots, 9/2/$14.20; Best Bet, 1/1/$5.40

Santa Anita Park Totals – 559/161/$1,006.40; Long Shots, 277/34/$367.80; Best Bets, 34/16/$71.60

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #1 Zeewat (8/5) in race 7 at Golden Gate Fields. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, Sweet N Discreet ran second at Gulfstream paying $4.00 to place and $3.00 to show. Stats – 31/17/$148.50; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick