Horse Racing: Today at Los Alamitos, Sept. 12

Post Time 2 p.m.
Race 1 – 5 furlongs, Purse $12,000, Claiming $6,250, 3-year-olds and up
7 Jacksons a Bobcat – Chance to sit a perfect stalker role under Tiago Pereira; his business has slowed down after having a nice upswing during the summer, he can ride.
5 Time Toget Ahead – Chance to be lone early speed if he can leave the gate with alacrity; the final furlong will be the hardest as speed has been getting caught late.
Long Shot – 2 Cunning Ride
Race 2 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $17,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up
4 Midnight Man – Sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to the bottom; from the top Philip D’Amato barn, expect this one to sit a nice stalking trip and rally wide late.
3 Exemplar – Another sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to the bottom rung; the track has favored rally wide types and the rail has been deep and tiring to most.
Long Shot – 5 Player’s Charm
Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $17,000, Claiming $12,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
6 Flyin for a Livin – Claimed by Bob Hess and without Kent Desormeaux around, he legs up Fernando Perez; her last race stunk, but her prior races are good enough for these.
3 Winninginfashion – Chance to be lone early speed if let loose by Ry Eikleberry; if you don’t know the name, he is a top rider in the Midwest and Southwest circuits.
Long Shot – 4 Wildly Excessive
Race 4 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds
4 One Bye Two – Looks like controlling speed under Los Alamitos regular Cheryl Charlton; speed has not done well so far, but it helps to lead 3-4 paths off the rail.
5 Swiss Rosalee – Has the right stalker style which has done well the first week of this short meet; the key for me is she not a particularly fast one, must improve.
Long Shot – 9 Be a Lady
Race 5 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $14,000, Claiming $8,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
2 Gold Journey – This horse should have been declared a non-starter in last; draw a line thru it and she has a strong stalker style that has trended well so far.
3 Gianis – Ran well at the summer meet against better thoroughbreds; figures to be disrespected at the windows, so is a must use in your vertical tickets.
Long Shot – 8 Beyond Lucky
Race 6 – 1 mile, Purse $50,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up
2 Big Discovery – Mike Smith doesn’t need to ride at this meet at all; so when he shows up, in this case to ride for Tim Yakteen, that is a key vote of confidence.
3 Dylan Ward – Has yet to run a race on the main track in his career; he keeps running consistently competitive speed figures, so that alone gives his a shot.
Long Shot – 6 Day in the Sun
Race 7 – 6 furlongs, Purse $46,000, Optional claiming $20,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
9 W. Giles – Was claimed by Kelly Casteneda after a sharp win for trainer Philip D’Amato; note that he has a perfect 4-for-4 in the money in races at Los Alamitos.
2 Pay the Fine – Things have been going well for trainer Doug O’Neill and his stable rider Mario Gutierrez; they are winning lots of races big and small, east and west.
Long Shot – 8 Prince Charmant
Race 8 – 1 mile, $75,000 E. B. Johnston, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
8 Motown Men – One of the better claims made this calendar year in SoCal; has a tendency to run nailbiters regardless if he wins the verdict or not.
1 Soi Phet – Had great success at Los Alamitos last year; he won the Bertrando and the Los Alamitos Mile, key is the rail has been deep and he starts inside.
Long Shot – 4 Ambitious Brew
Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $50,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
8 Nite Delite – This filly is definitely lone early speed so jockey Edwin Maldonado has simple tactics to follow; break fast from the gate and improve your position.
4 Moonie – Fought hard but was strictly second best last time; she’s run second in 4-of-7 starts so she is good enough to compete, but hasn’t been good enough to win, yet.
Long Shot – 6 Blue Cilantro
Best Bet - 2 Gold Journey (race 5)
Los Alamitos Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/5/$20.20; Long Shots, 8/1/$10.00; Best Bet, 1/1/$4.20
Los Alamitos Totals - 32/11/$71.60; Long Shots, 16/3/$31.00; Best Bets, 2/2/$8.60
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Flag On the Play (10/1) in race 6 at Belmont Park. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, House of Sole ran second at Churchill Downs paying $2.80 to place and $2.20 to show. Stats - 137/94/$708.50; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick