HORSE RACING

By Richard Eng

Post Time 2 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $51,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Royal Reason – FTS from Angelo Tekos has been working up a storm; Corey Nakatani is showing signs of life.

Storm the Church – Like the turn back in distance; should be dead fit for this under hot riding Tyler Baze.

Long Shot – Candace Gold

Race 2 – 5 furlongs (turf), Purse $57,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Once Upon a Grace – Typical U.S. debut, slow early, fast late; had trouble late or could have been closer.

Gold Goddess – May have bounced in last after a huge race two back; offers big value if she can rebound.

Long Shot – Stash

Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $35,000, Claiming $25,000, 4-year-olds and up

Joshua’s Dream – Fanned very wide both turns and still kept coming; claimed by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer.

Skippy Due – Solid second in last off a 2-month hiatus; has proven to excel over the synthetic surfaces.

Long Shot – Sensational Score

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $51,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

La Nez – Second best twice in a row; solid improvement in last, similar try is fast enough to win this.

Miss Georgie Girl – FTS is a kin to the very talented Georgie Boy; like that Garrett Gomez takes the call.

Long Shot – Word Association

Race 5 – 1 1/8th miles (turf), Purse $65,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds and up

Gothic Samurai – Was forced on the lead by slow pace in U.S. debut; can definitely sit and make one run.

Blue Chagall – Had a horrendous trip in last; it was one of the few bad rides at Del Mar by Tyler Baze.

Long Shot – Great Siege

Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $16,000, Claiming $10,000, 4-year-olds and up

Bewitching Bartok – Fresh face facing many long in the tooth claimers; has back class to handle these.

High Investment – Upset chance in the most wide open race on the card; expect a cavalry charge to the wire.

Long Shot – Ballistic Heat

Race 7 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $51,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

Marcello – Was overshadowed in debut by uncoupled stablemate Tiny Woods; expect big improvement tonight.

Poker Trick – FTS was training in Florida before shipping to SoCal; horses are running for Doug O’Neill.

Long Shot – Pulsion

Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), $150,000 La Jolla Handicap, 3-year-olds

I’ll Show Them – Has looked extra special in winning both career starts; big class rise to run in stakes.

Rendezvous – Ran good, but not good enough in last; his best races have all come over the grass course.

Long Shot – New Bay

Race 9 – Purse $37,000, Claiming $32,000, 4-year-olds and up

Smooth and Savvy – Perfect entry, one speedball and the other a late closer; should see a wicked fast pace.

Gandolf – Big rider switch to Joel Rosario for the money shot; chased my top choice last time out.

Long Shot – Yes It’s a Cat

Race 10 – 6 furlongs, Purse $19,000, Maiden claiming $25,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

Anundeniablyhappy – There is a lot to be said for saving ground; inside, grinding trip under Joe Talamo.

Kay S – Looks best on paper but figures to be extremely wide; look for Victor Espinosa to send hard early.

Long Shot – Mar Fina

Best Bet – Marcello (race 7)

Del Mar Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 17/3/$16.80; Long Shots, 9/1/$8.00; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals – 306/77/$540.60; Long Shots, 160/16/$185.80; Best Bets, 16/6/$26.20

SIMULCAST PICK OF THE DAY – #3 Lauro (10/1) in race 10 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Ruff and Ready ran out at Saratoga. Stats – 121/96/$714.30