Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, September 4
September 3, 2015 - 8:19 pm
Post Time 4 p.m.
Race 1 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $36,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds
5 Briana Jean – Has finished in the money her last three starts; she is a twice beaten favorite, but has tactical speed and some finishing power.
7 Tiz Pleasant – Should be simple tactics for Edwin Maldonado; he just needs to send, try to relax on the lead and save some energy for the final furlong.
Long Shot – 3 Atlantic Slew
Race 2 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 12 feet), Purse $40,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
4 Commander King – Has been closing well in turf routes, but keeps coming up a little bit short; exits a key race so he faced some good foes last time out.
9 Gunslinger – A $625K purchase, he was dropped in for $20K in his second career start; was claimed by Doug O’Neill who figures there must be something good here.
Long Shot – 1 Silver Torch
Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $72,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
1 Yana – I like the rail post in 2-turn one mile races on turf or dirt; has plenty of early speed to lead or gain good position going into the first turn.
3 Never Ends – Broke thru with a nice MSW win versus overmatched foes; facing winners for the first time and going 2-turns for the first time, both are major tests.
Long Shot – 7 She’s Ready
Race 4 – 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 12 feet), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
8 Dreamologist – Ran into two buzzsaws in debut, one of them Gloryzapper won a stakes next time out; she is bred to be special and should improve second time out.
3 Redheads Rule – It’s not luck that her two best races have come with Victor Espinoza in the saddle; best if he sits a trip and tries to rally late.
Long Shot – 6 Place des Vosges
Race 5 – 6 furlongs, $150,000 I’m Smokin, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds
4 Smokey Image – NoCal invader has pedigree to handle 2-turn distance too; has a nice tracking style where he can make his own racing luck.
5 Found Money – Was dueled into submission last time after two impressive wins to start his career; is reunited with Mario Gutierrez who rode him in career debut.
Long Shot – 1 Carlos Dangerous
Race 6 – 5 furlongs (turf, rail at 12 feet), Purse $75,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds and up
4 Rocket Heat – Has paired two wins in grass sprints so he keeps moving up the condition ladder; his speed will be aided by the turf rail out 12 feet.
5 Set of J’s – Ship and win candidate landed in the Philip D’Amato barn; horses from Indiana Downs are seldom given respect, so expect full odds on this one.
Long Shot – 8 Inkling
Race 7 – 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
13 Southern Loyalty – Chance for the Desormeaux brothers to add another notch; see if the odds are inflated as some horseplayers ignore the also eligible list runners.
2 Blue Ratio – Sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to the bottom for HOF trainer Richard Mandella; they all can’t be Beholder, but a win is a win nonetheless.
Long Shot – 3 Juansagain
Best Bet - 4 Smokey Image (race 5)
Del Mar Thursday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/4/$24.00; Long Shots, 7/1/$20.60; Best Bet, 1/1/$5.40
Del Mar Totals - 609/144/$979.00; Long Shots, 300/43/$543.40; Best Bets, 35/14/$59.80
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Comet Sixty Two (3/1) in race 6 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Why Not Whiskey ran out at Saratoga. Stats - 131/89/$678.90; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick