01/15/2015
Well it was another day of three out of four on both tickets but with the rain moving two of the four legs off the turf I cant be hard on myself. Today kicks off five days of racing in a row at Santa Anita! The fields today suggest a potentially decent payoff!
In the first leg we have one of my favorite trainers, Bob Hess, entering two horses – the winning combo of Hess/Desormeaux on #6 Kadaya and the #2 Love Blind with Solis on board. Kadaya, an Irish horse who ran last in her most recent race after a one year layoff, is plunging in class and these class droppers have been running well here of late. #5 Miss Ellany is another Irish filly who won here in October and then tried a class jump and got creamed. Back down she goes. #5 is the favorite in the morning line too.
In the 6th race another Hess entry #2 Dreamy Kid with Talamo on board jumps out at me. He ran 2nd in December and had a fast workout last week. and is a late runner, a nice trait at this distance. #5 American Act drops to his lowest level yet and will probably end up the favorite. I am not going to use the other possible favorite here #9 Mistaken Identity even though he is dropping in class. Instead I am going with the #4 Caramuru who ran third both times on synthetic and then won on dirt at Los Al. At 6-1 that is a decent price in a race that’s really up for grabs.
In the 7th race #8 Turn On The Pumps finished in a dead heat with #1 in this race at Del Mar. His trainer Carla Gaines and Espinoza are 2 for 4 so far and we get a nice price in a horse that looks to be coming back into form. #2 Synnin has won his last two turf races, both at Del Mar and in another race where quite a few could win I am going to use him. Its a toss up between #1 Lucky J Lane and #9 Gab Power for my third horse so I will go with the #1 as we have Bejarano on board. You could use both but this Pick 4 sequence today has no clear singles and even going three deep I’m still not confident so I have to make a stand. #7 Lucky Views with Talamo on turf is worth a look too.
In the final race #4 Pocketball is the clear favorite in the morning line and if you had to chose a single this would be it. Second in his first two races today may be the day for this speedball. #10 Matty’s Tribal is another pure speed horse that could get into a duel with our other choice. Lost of sharp works have been reported. With all this speed we need a close in case they burn each other out. #2 Unusually Big ran out of state in his first start and I usually want to see a race BUT looking at the race video this horse could be the danger in this field. Boxed in twice in the race Big made a strong late running kick and could catch our speedsters today at a price.
Today’s Pick 4 bet will cost $40.50
2,5,6
2,4,5
1,2,8
2,4,10
An alternative bet will cost $9
3,5,6
4,5
2,7,9
4
Good luck today!