SANTA ANITA
Race 1
We get 2yo maiden fillies going 4-1/2 furlongs to start the pick five. No. 3 My California is trained by Robertino Diodoro who can pop with a first time starter, she looks very sneaky. No. 8 Chocolate Goddess is trained by Scott Rollins who hits at 30% first out, she looks the one to beat but after that it’s the all button. 3-8
Race 2
No. 5 Tribal Jewel has a solid record here at Santa Anita, he gets a drop back to his claimed level and will be very tough with these. No. 6 Roman Tizzy exits out HTW list and also fits here. 5-6
Race 3
$20k maiden fillies and mares go a flat mile on the dirt. No. 2 Flashy Gold just missed in her last at Los Al and drops a notch. No. 5 Goldrushcat exits the same race and just lost by a neck and was a half length in front of Flashy Gold, this looks like a gold to gold exacta. 2-5
Exacta box 2-5
Race 4
No. 1 Dis Smart Cat won by ten lengths in her debut race and the horse that finished second and third came back to score next out. No. 3 Tinderette is looking for her third straight win. No. 6 Paschalitsa is the closer and the price play of the race. 1-3-6
Race 5
Down the hill they go. No. 2 Roy H has always liked going down the hill and he hit the board in all three of his downhill starts with a win, second and a third. His main danger comes from No. 10 Ebadan who is in from Ireland for Neil Drysdale he makes his first start as a gelding and gets Lasix for the first time and top turf jock Prat gets the call. 2-10
Pick five
1st 3-8
2nd 5-6
3rd 2-5
4th 1-3-6
5th 2-10
Race 6
$16k claimer for fillies and mares at 7 furlongs. No. 6 Kellianne Can Can drops and broke her maiden here at this tough 7 furlong distance and the hard trying Strew Elliott gets the call. No. 7 Audra gets her first start off the win and claim. 6-7
Race 7
No. 1 Ben’s Duchess gets some class relief and is the best closer in the race. She will try and run down the very speedy No. 2 Sensitively. 1-2
Race 8
Maidens go down the hill in the last race today. No. 1 Papa Joey stepped up in his last start to try this downhill turf course and may have won if not for a slow start and wide trip. No. 6 Infinite Loop exits our HTW list off a solid try at a mile on the grass, he is the main danger for Papa. 1-6
Pick four
5th 2-10
6th 6-7
7th 1-2
8th 1-6
CHECK FOR LATE SCRATCHES AND CHECK THAT THE SADDLE CLOTH NUMBERS MATCH OUR SELECTION NUMBERS.
Richard Saber, a former director of race and sports at the famed Stardust book, is GT’s horse racing and sports handicapper. Twitter: @SabesBet. Email: [email protected]