Horse Racing
January 9, 2011 - 12:00 am
TODAY AT SANTA ANITA PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 - 7 furlongs, Purse $54,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 3-year-olds
1 Spectacular Sky - Showed improvement last time in second career start; will be grinding along the rail.
3 Hard to Resist - Ran evenly in debut and figures to improve second time out; exits the same MSW race as the chalk.
Long Shot - 2 Kilograeme
Race 2 - 1 mile (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $56,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
6 Holy Flapper - Has good tactical speed to lead or sit close up; has faced fields tougher than this in the past.
7 Bellini Bliss - Has won twice already on turf with a late closing style; a negative is the turf rail out 24 feet.
Long Shot - 4 Party With Brando
Race 3 - 1 1/16th miles, $100,000 Santa Ysabel, Fillies, 3-year-olds
4 May Day Rose - Bob Baffert has an uncoupled entry, don't expect them to duel; she ran gamely in the Hollywood Starlet.
3 Zazu - Disappointing run in the Hollywood Starlet; John Sadler switches to Joe Talamo to try and shake things up.
Long Shot - 1 Bluegrass Chatter
Race 4 - 1 mile, Purse $25,000, Claiming $20,000, 4-year-olds and up
6 Job Boss - Sliding down the claiming ladder to a career-low class; should be able to sit a trip and grind late.
2 Belo Purse - Lot of gaps in his resume, but he belongs in this class; poor start cost him all chance at Del Mar.
Long Shot - 1 Marquet Rebel
Race 5 - 1 1/8th miles (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $54,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up
2 Absolutlypositivly - Tepid chalk has finished 5-of-7 in the money starts on grass; may inherit the lead late.
4 Le' Heat - Big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano for the money shot; has chased the chalk in his last two starts.
Long Shot - 7 Nofty
Race 6 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Claiming $10,000, 4-year-olds and up
2 Nitro Active - Doug O'Neill likes to drop down and win; should get some value with Martin Pedroza riding.
4 Bad Boy - Dead-late closer was claimed by Mark Glatt; he's 5 races in a row, but does it for a few different trainers.
Long Shot - 6 Proud Cardenal
Race 7 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $56,000, Allowance, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
5 Russian River - Mike Mitchell is as hot as Bob Baffert, but doesn't have the same bullets; like the turn back in distance.
3 Money Lover - With the turf rail out 24 feet, this speedball will relish that; will play catch me if you can.
Long Shot - 7 Wake Me Now
Race 8 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $56,000, Allowance, Cal-breds, 4-year-olds and up
4 A Plus Topper - His two turf tries shows he better stick to the main track; taking the blinkers off for this run.
6 C Tizz Run - Explosive MSW win, takes the biggest class rise in facing winners for the first time; this group is tougher.
Long Shot - 1 He's a Dance Star
Race 9 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $38,000, Claiming $40,000, Fillies, 4-year-olds
6 Fairway Road - Claimed by Peter Miller off a sharp win; a repeat race certainly gives him a major shot in here.
9 Glory Pride - Always like a parking lot post down the hillside turf course; like the turn back in distance angle too.
Long Shot - 2 Seeking the Queen
Best Bet - 4 May Day Rose (race 3)
Santa Anita Park Saturday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$15.60; Long Shots, 8/1/$18.00; Best Bet, 0/0/$0
Santa Anita Park Totals - 163/48/$308.20; Long Shots, 80/11/$127.00; Best Bets, 9/5/$19.60
SIMULCAST PICK OF THE DAY - 4 Performing (2/1) in race 7 at Tampa Bay Downs. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Sunlit won at Tampa Bay Downs paying $3.20 to win, $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Stats - 9/7/$53.90