And so we reach the end; the final day of racing for Hollywood Park. I really don't have anything to say here; since I've never been to Hollywood Park myself, I have no personal memories of the place that I can share. Rather, I'll just defer to others, much more eloquent than myself, to express what Hollywood Park has meant to them through the years. So we'll just move on, keeping in mind that change is inevitable, except from a vending machine; and with that, offer our thoughts on the final Hollywood Park Pick Four.
RACE 8 - (F) MSW - Six Furlongs Synthetic
A's
# 8 Koukla (Morning Line 3-1)
C's
# 4 Steal the Lute (ML 7-2)
# 6 Zensational Beauty (ML 5-2)
I wasn't impressed with any of the three experienced runners in this field, as I feel that each would need to make a big step forward in order to win. Koukla, Steal the Lute, and Zensational Beauty are trained by (respectively) John Sadler, Bob Baffert, and Peter Miller. All three trainers are top notch at having their runners ready to roll at first asking. I gave Koukla the nod over the other two on the basis of her sire, Northern Afleet.
RACE 9 - [S] ALW N1X - Eight and a Half Furlongs Turf
A's
# 4 Pulpit's Express (ML 9-5)
# 7 Wings of Mojave (ML 5-1)
C's
# 2 Full Instinct (ML 7-2)
# 6 Volkonsky (ML 4-1)
I gave a lot of thought to singling Pulpit's Express here; but Trainer John Sadler has just a 10% Winning Percentage with runners returning from a two-to-six month vacation, so I thought it more prudent to spread. Wings of Mojave made a nice move forward in his last start, and Trainer Vann Belvoir does well in spotting his returning victors. Full Instinct is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, and could be the speed of the speed here; while Volkonsky could be the one to pick up the pieces if the pace should totally collapse.
RACE 10 - [S] The King Glorious $200K - Seven Furlongs Synthetic
A's
# 2 Pray Hard (ML 4-1)
# 9 Aotearoa (ML 5-2)
C's
# 5 Alpine Luck (ML 20-1)
# 8 California Chrome (ML 3-1)
# 10 Better Bet (ML 12-1)
Scratch # 4 Mass Transit (ML 6-1)
Pray Hard is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, who has been winning all the other stakes this meet; it would be fitting for him to win the last one ever over this main track. Aotearoa is probably better suited to the grass; but he does have a win over the synthetic at Del Mar, and he'll certainly appreciate the class relief.
California Chrome has had a couple of troubled trips since winning The Graduation Stakes in July; perhaps he'll do better today. Alpine Luck and Better Bet are a pair of stakes winners trained by Mike Harrington, who knows a thing or two about winning at this level with long shot runners.
RACE 11 - Alw 25000s - Eight and a Half Furlongs Turf
A's
# 2 Moonlit Meteor (ML 8-1)
# 9 Danderek (GB) (ML 9-2)
# 11 Depreciable (ML 7-2)
# 12 Insideondoutside (ML 6-1)
C's
# 4 Anythingscookin (ML 8-1)
# 5 Woodmans Luck (ML 6-1)
# 6 Soul Candy (ML 8-1)
# 8 Mr. Candy Bar (ML 8-1)
Had he drawn in, I would have really liked # 13 No Contingency (ML 8-1) here.
Danderek (GB), Depreciable, and Insideondoutside have all defeated open claimers in one of their last two races on the grass at a distance equal to or within a half furlong of today's event. Moonlit Meteor is a lightly raced horse with a victory over this turf course; he could take another step forward today.
Anythingscookin could steal this one on the front end. Woodmans Luck fits the class level, but is winless on the turf; note that Trainer Vladimir Cerin has a positive ROI when moving his runners from plastic to grass. Soul Candy has a win in four tries over this turf course, and will no doubt appreciate the class relief. Mr. Candy Bar has earned Beyer Speed Figures of late that could win against this field, though he seems to be rather reluctant to cross the wire first when the opportunity presents itself.
Rather than list all the tickets here (as has been my custom) I'll just state that I'll be playing this in my normal fashion, Steve Crist style. Play a ticket for one dollar with all the "A" contenders; that should cost you $16.00. Then play four tickets for fifty cents using the "A" contenders in three of the four legs and the "C" contenders in the other; those should cost you $44.00; making the Total Cost of our Pick Four Play today $60.00.
Post Time for Race 8 is 7:05 EST / 4:05 PST. Good luck to all.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
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