Horse racing: Today at Santa Anita, Feb. 9
February 9, 2013 - 2:13 am
TODAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 - 1 mile (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up
9 Waitwaitdonttellme - Good horses usually have good names, so what gives with this one; closed stoutly in last turf route.
4 Troy Story - Solid speed run in last to just miss; like that Rafael Bejarano remains loyal to the cause.
Long Shot - 11 Empty Headed
Race 2 - 7 furlongs, Purse $35,000, Claiming $32,000, 4-year-olds and up
3 First Strike - Gets class relief as he ran in a tough stakes two races back; should find his friends at this low level.
1 Chicsdigtheshark - Speedball win in last off a 2-month hiatus; Bill Spawr has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor.
Long Shot - 5 Tiz Dynamic
Race 3 - 6 furlongs, Purse $30,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds
2 He’s Not too Shabby - Has large time gaps in his resume; still each race was good and from a respected barn in Jeff Mullins.
5 Judge Carr - Broke his maiden nicely for a $50K price tag; should have a puncher’s chance at a square price.
Long Shot - 4 I’m Not Gray
Race 4 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds
6 Kings Giant - Dead late closer showed good improvement in second career start; tiny edge in a wide open scrum.
11 Examen - Leap of faith that the Tom Proctor-Garrett Gomez team stays hot; was favored at Arlington in his career debut.
Long Shot - 8 Syndicated
Race 5 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 3-year-olds
3 Trice Up - Brutal beat last time under a perfect ride by Gary Stevens; he’s been unlucky with 9 seconds.
6 Harlington Night - If you like a did not finish line, then this is your animal; lost rider at the start in last.
Long Shot - 8 Already Rockin
Race 6 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 8 feet), Purse $58,000, Allowance, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
10 Hidinginplainsight - Speedball will try to take advantage of the turf rail out 8 feet; no sense playing coy here.
6 Belle de Lune - More Tom Proctor-Garrett Gomez action; lost last to a talented filly in Indecise.
Long Shot - 12 Nospeightintended
Race 7 - 6 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds
5 Zee Bros - FTS from Bob Baffert is working fast, what else; watch the tote board for additional clues.
3 Bench Press - John Sadler has an uncoupled entry and both appear capable of graduating; nice improvement expected.
Long Shot - 1 Joelito
Race 8 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, 4-year-olds and up
3 Pride of Silver - Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; need not be much to boss these.
7 Spit Ball - Broke his maiden off the claim by Vann Belvoir; suspect he’s able to compete facing winners for the first time.
Long Shot - 8 Last Memories
Race 9 - 1 1/4 miles (turf, rail at 8 feet), $150,000 San Marcos, 4-year-olds and up
1 Interaction - Ron McAnally has had a small resurgence of sorts; Hall of Famers don’t forget how to train horses.
2 Juniper Pass - Sneaky pick in a wide open race; reunited with Rafael Bejarano, the trip will mean everything.
Long Shot - 5 Richard’s Kid
Race 10 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 3-year-olds
9 Chico Suerte - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; his race two back would beat these.
10 Captain Hadley - Closed strongly in last on the drop; Aaraon Gryder will need to carve out a trip from a parking lot post.
Long Shot - 4 Duke Street King
Best Bet - 3 Pride of Silver (race 8)
Santa Anita Park Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/5/$32.40; Long Shots, 8/2/$24.00; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Santa Anita Park Totals - 449/127/$825.90; Long Shots, 222/27/$311.00; Best Bets, 25/8/$32.60
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Flat Out (3/1) in race 11 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Gold Vegas won at Gulfstream Park paying $4.60 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.20 to show. Stats - 23/17/$119.10; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick