Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, August 12
Post Time 2:05 p.m.
Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $31,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds
8 Wish I Understood – When Bob Baffert drops a maiden cull for a price tag, he wins at a high percentage; most horses claimed from the barn do not improve either.
6 Mint Julep Taffy – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; need not be much to beat a very pedestrian group.
Long Shot – 2 One Putt Par
Race 2 – 5 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $72,000, Allowance, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
6 Desert Steel – Has improved nicely when focused on being a turf sprinter; trainer Simon Callaghan knows a thing or two about handling a turf runner.
3 Cindys Secret – Closed stoutly for second last time after a tardy beginning; it will be interesting if Kent Desormeaux decides to ride her like that again.
Long Shot – 4 Sky Forever
Race 3 – 6 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Claiming $32,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
5 Magic Lily – Claimed by trainer John Martin out of a good second at Golden Gate Fields; you know how I feel about horses shipping in from that Tapeta surface.
2 Sweetrayofsunshine – Trainer Bill Spawr has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor; he does great with layoff horses that have been given time to be 100 percent fit.
Long Shot – 6 Seeking Shamrocks
Race 4 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
12 Bella Breeze – Claimed by Jorge Periban off a good second in last; she is a real speedball that they tried to rate last time, suspect Mario Gutierrez will send.
11 Rush of Day – Taking a huge class drop in search of victory; trainer Gary Stute is also taking the blinkers off, so this is a full bore effort to win.
Long Shot – 5 Scatchmeifyoucan
Race 5 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
2 Rideo – HOF trainer Richard Mandella and Flavien Prat have cooled off a tad; however a hot streak can start with the next race, so keep an eyeball here.
3 Dressed in Hermes – If you know Hermes, then you know someone with expensive tastes; was favored in career debut and could certainly improve tonight.
Long Shot – 10 Canada
Race 6 – 6 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds and up
7 Yiannis – Speedball has not been seen since a pop and stop effort in the Laz Barrera; been given to recover for trainer John Sadler.
8 Quick and Silver – I like the Golden Gate conditioning over the Tapeta synthetic surface; he should be dead fit and could stalk from this parking lot post.
Long Shot – 2 Top Fortitude
Race 7 – 6 ½ furlongs, $200,000 Sorrento, Fillies, 2-year-olds
7 Pretty N Cool – Is considered one of trainer Bob Baffert’s best 2-YO prospects; was never tested in MSW debut win, facing winners for the first time is always harder.
6 Uptown Twirl – John Sadler barn has gotten very adept at winning first time out; this Twirling Candy filly looks like she has a very high ceiling too.
Long Shot – 1 Right There
Race 8 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds
7 Handful of Stripes – Trainer Michael Stidham baby gave a strong effort in his SoCal debut; like that Rafael Bejarano is riding first call for this top Midwest outfit.
4 Bruntino – Kent Desormeaux is showing all that he still has the skills; his opinion though that Prospect Park is as good as American Pharoah is a stretch thought.
Long Shot – 11 Nuke Laloosh
Best Bet - 7 Pretty N Cool (race 7)
Del Mar Sunday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 19/6/$31.20; Long Shots, 10/1/$19.00; Best Bet, 1/1/$3.60
Del Mar Totals - 325/70/$487.60; Long Shots, 160/24/$297.60; Best Bets, 18/6/$24.80
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #5 Radiator (3/1) in race 9 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Sunday, My Lute ran second at Saratoga paying $6.50 to place and $4.80 to show. Stats - 115/80/$621.90; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick
