Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Jan. 14
January 14, 2012 - 2:02 am
Today at Santa Anita Park
By Richard Eng
Post Time 1 p.m.
Race 1 - 6 furlongs, Purse $26,000, Claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds
1 Hadfunlast Night - Speedy sort gave a good account of himself in his SoCal debut last out; subtle class drop can make all the difference.
3 Respuesta Solida - Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; will sit in arrears and make one run.
Long Shot - 5 Rino U
Race 2 - 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds
6 Sudden Ghost - Tim Yakteen has found a very soft spot for graduation day; tactical speed to lead or follow close up.
5 Nifty Dream - Showed a lot of improvement in her second career start; will need to improve some more to upset these.
Long Shot - 3 Warren's Morgan
Race 3 - 1 1/16th miles, Purse $17,000, Claiming $8,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
2 Roman Chic - Mike Mitchell speedball is dropped to the bottom today; if he doesn't win here, he could be headed for Phoenix.
1 Purse Storm - Joel Rosario has the rail spot to sit and let the chalk do all the dirty work; will try to steal the verdict late.
Long Shot - 7 Saint Cindy
Race 4 - 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Claiming $16,000, 4-year-olds and up
10 Mayor Marv - Bob Baffert cull should have enough back class to handle these; clearly a red flag fire sale, but proven on dirt.
2 Star Nicholas - He's showing he's capable on dirt as well as synthetics; proven at this class, these are his friends.
Long Shot - 8 Slam Slew
Race 5 - 1 mile (turf), Purse $56,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds
3 Qatar's Pearl - Just missed last time in a no excuse second; his race two back was full of trouble, ability to step it up.
10 Frenemy - Logical chalk makes his grass debut tonight; chased a strong stablemate last out in Sky Kingdom.
Long Shot - 2 Vibrato Jazz
Race 6 - 6 furlongs, Purse $58,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up
3 Hout Bay - In a race jammed with early speed, no one times his late move like Joel Rosario; will be marking time in the lane.
5 Came West - Interesting long shot is another with solid late pace; underrated connections will keep her price high.
Long Shot - 7 Spectacular Bay
Race 7 - 6 1/2 furlongs (turf), Purse $60,000, Optional claiming $62,500, 4-year-olds and up
2 Casper's Touch - Kentucky import makes his SoCal debut for Mike Mitchell; good enough to run in the Lexington and Fountain of Youth.
7 Let's Do It - Hard knocking turf horse can be a useful sort in SoCal; should have many conditions available for Doug O'Neill.
Long Shot - 3 Chosen Miracle
Race 8 - 1 1/16th miles, $150,000 San Fernando, 4-year-olds
8 Tapizar - Steve Asmussen trainee could be a major player in the handicap division; his upside is out of sight.
1 Prayer for Relief - Rafael Bejarano had choices and opted to ride for Bob Baffert; draw a line thru the Clark and he looks fine.
Long Shot - 5 Irish Art
Race 9 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, 3-year-olds
5 Mon Coeur - Huge rider switch to Joel Rosario for the money shot; switches back to dirt where he ran OK in his career debut.
7 Teasing Bernie - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; need not be much to upset these.
Long Shot - 6 Solana Soleil
Best Bet - 3 Qatar's Pearl (race 5)
Santa Anita Park Friday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/6/$39.60; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0
Santa Anita Park Totals - 196/47/$304.60; Long Shots, 100/16/$218.40; Best Bets, 11/5/$20.40
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #5 Agave Kiss (5/2) in race 7 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Radiant Talent ran second at Fair Grounds paying $2.20 to place and $2.10 to show. Stats - 10/8/$55.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick