Horse Racing: Today at Santa Anita, Jan. 14

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