Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita Park, Feb. 23

By Richard Eng

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

3 Secret of Success – Was well bet in debut and then all heck broke loose; squeezed back start, then a very wide trip.

7 Night Teller – Logical chalk has had 9 chances to graduate; she will have to inherit the lead to win this one.

Long Shot – 8 Enchanted Dreams

Race 2 – 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $60,000, Allowance, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

7 Chokecherymary – Has won 3-of-5 on turf, twice here in Arcadia; horses for courses is real and she loves Santa Anita.

5 Stanwyck – She has done little wrong in her career under John Shirreffs; suspect Garrett Gomez will take her back for one run.

Long Shot – 2 Jolly Days

Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds

3 Penrose – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; need not be much to handle these.

4 Warren’s Lorie S. – Has put together 3 good races since tried around 2-turns; suspect she likes the much softer early pace.

Long Shot – 9 Nonna Reese

Race 4 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Allowance, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up

2 Splendid Fortune – Bob Baffert is taking his time with this filly; she is bred to go long but has only sprinted so far.

4 Egg Drop – Clearly ran like a short horse in last; expect improvement second out off a 7-month vacation.

Long Shot – 5 My Philly Girl

Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), $75,000 Joe Hernandez Handicap, 4-year-olds and up

2 Chips All In – He is 5-of-6 in the money on grass and won both starts over Santa Anita sod; like the cut back and is fresh.

3 Unbridled’s Note – Sprint specialist is equally adept on turf or dirt; gave Mizdirection all she could handle in the BC.

Long Shot – 7 Irish Art

Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $16,000, Claiming $12,500, 4-year-olds and up

2 Sun’s Out – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; like that Garrett Gomez remains loyal to the cause.

5 Flower Power – Second start off a 10-month hiatus; she did everything but win in return up at Golden Gate.

Long Shot – 10 Rock Off

Race 7 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $35,000, Claiming $32,000, 4-year-olds

7 Smoking G – Draw a line thru a pathetic race on dirt in last; he is proven on grass and is dropping way down in class.

1 Grumpy Small Mouth – Solid turf resume and is dropped way down in class for this; Garrett Gomez has a lot of live mounts today.

Long Shot – 4 Jakob’s Magic

Race 8 – 7 furlongs, $200,000 San Carlos, 4-year-olds and up

5 Midnight Transfer – Won off a 9-month layoff in last; Carla Gaines has always thought very highly of this colt.

7 The Lumber Guy – Has not looked the same since joining the Neil Drysdale barn; has to regain some lustre in this spot.

Long Shot – 6 Sahara Sky

Race 9 – 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds

5 Thunder’s Rollin’ – Had a rough trip in debut for Steve Asmussen; started poorly, then checked hard in mid-race.

6 Uno Dos Adios – Was well bet in debut that was 6-months ago; Bill Spawr is great at running horses fresh.

Long Shot – 8 Wind of Bosphorus

Best Bet – 7 Smoking G (race 7)

Santa Anita Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/3/$18.60; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.80

Santa Anita Park Totals – 606/164/$1,083.10; Long Shots, 299/36/$413.20; Best Bets, 34/13/$54.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #2 Mark Valeski (2/1) in race 8 at Fair Grounds. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Carnival Kid ran third at Oaklawn Park paying $2.40 to show. Stats – 31/23/$165.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick