Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, July 18
July 17, 2015 - 8:46 pm
Post Time 2:05 p.m.
Race 1 - 1 mile, Purse $40,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds
4 Afleet in Time - At some point soon, Rafael Bejarano will start to dominate this meet; he has a new agent which tells me both men are very hungry.
2 Dynamite Ride - Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; has run consistent speed figures, so maybe the drop can really help him.
Long Shot - 3 Tiz Jolie
Race 2 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $36,000, Claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
3 I Don‘t Care Who - Claimed two races ago by John Sadler; looked overmatched in last but his race two back is definitely fast enough to beat these.
1 Macho Sox - Claimed by Peter Miller off a sharp win at Santa Anita; takes a minor class rise, but the keys will be the rail and the back class.
Long Shot - 6 Knock Em Flat
Race 3 - 5 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
1 Toews On Ice - Bob Baffert FTS been working fast, what else is new; is named for the captain of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks.
7 Rockin Bayou - Jeff Mullins has started this meet like a ball of fire; key vote comes from HOF Mike Smith who can be pretty picky with his mounts.
Long Shot - 4 Dare to Believe
Race 4 - 1 1/8th miles (turf), $400,000 Eddie Read, 3-year-olds and up
7 Finnegans Wake - He‘s a traveling man who has made a lot of stops; his last 3 starts have been at Churchill Downs, Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park.
3 Midnight Storm - Did everything but win last time in an big effort; stretching out another furlong, suspect a horse like Big Cazanova to escort him.
Long Shot - Gabriel Charles
Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
2 Quality Chimes - When you take as big a class drop as her, you have a big chance; off the turf, need not be much to compete with these.
6 Sailor‘s Cry - Another taking a huge class drop, this one for Peter Miller; he needs to win races like this to win the trainer title.
Long Shot - 7 Sweet Mz. Poppet
Race 6 - 1 mile (turf), Purse $50,000, Claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds
3 Ernest Shackleton - Tiny edge in maybe the hardest race on the card; we have a bunch more class droppers so we know they have back class.
8 All Indians - Gets class relief from the Singletary where he ran a classic pop and stop; the pace may be softer, but he should be tighter.
Long Shot - 7 Trifecta
Race 7 - 5 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
5 Irish - Hard to believe a name as simple and effective as this was not taken; West Point Thoroughbreds loves to win races at Del Mar.
1 Gavin Streetsense - Rafael Bejarano and Richard Baltas have been a tough tandem; your edge over me will be seeing the tote action on these FTS.
Long Shot - 2 Salutation
Race 8 - 1 1/16th miles (turf), $80,000 Osunitas, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
3 Elektrum - Had a tough trip in the Gamely or she could have won a grade 1; big rider switch to the now jockey in Victor Espinoza.
7 Istanford - I really expect the Michael Stidham barn to be very competitive in SoCal; like that Rafael Bejarano has opted to take first call.
Long Shot - 10 Personal Diary
Race 9 - 6 furlongs, Purse $72,000, Optional claiming 440,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
3 Stealth Drone - Takes a huge class drop but is still protected by Peter Miller; sneaky good way to win a race while not losing the horse.
4 Pattitude - Interesting ship and win candidate; is transferred to Mike Pupye who legs up Rafael Bejarano, that tells me she should be live.
Long Shot - 8 Dr. Fager‘s Gal
Race 10 - 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $72,000, Optional claiming $80,000, 3-year-olds
7 The Gomper - This colt still has high hopes for the connections; he runs good races but still figures out a way to lose, different today.
3 Seve‘s Road - Philip D‘Amato barn has started out hot in the first couple of days; got black type in the Singletary but is eligible for NW1X still.
Long Shot - 5 Zinvor
Best Bet - 3 I Don‘t Care Who (race 2)
Del Mar Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$20.20; Long Shots, 7/1/$9.20; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Del Mar Totals - 35/7/$62.20; Long Shots, 17/1/$9.20; Best Bets, 2/0/$0
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #9 Bold Ambition (2/1) in race 9 at Woodbine. For scoring purposes, we‘ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Fantastic Eyes ran out at Belmont Park. Stats - 98/67/$517.40;
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