RACE 6 - (F) Clm $12.5k N2L - Six Furlongs Dirt
A’s
# 2 Secret Memo (Morning Line 7-2)
# 5 Citizen Jane (ML 6-1)
# 6 Lil Cheyenne (ML 6-1)
# 7 Beautiful Spirit (ML 5-2)
C’s
None
Secret Memo turns back to sprinting for Trainer Peter Miller, who has a .23 Winning Percentage when taking his runners from routes to sprints. Secret Memo broke her maiden at Santa Anita two starts back, making her one of just two starters in this field to have her solo win come over this main track. Agapito Delgadillo, who was aboard for that win, gets the mount again today.
Citizen Jane took the Show at this level two starts back, and was earning Beyers in the bullring at the LA County Fair that would get the job done today. Citizen Jane's ability to come off the pace should serve her well today.
Lil Cheyenne gets some class relief, having competed against open claimers in her last two events. I think it's fair to drop the effort three back as she was clearly off form. In fact, if you toss that October 3, 2013 race, along with the April 27, 2013 try versus state bred stakes company, you'll see that Lil Cheyenne's Beyer Speed Figures are remarkably consistent.
Beautiful Spirit has finished in the money in four of her six career starts. The Beyers Beautiful Spirit earned in her last two starts before her layoff are well within par for this level, and Trainer Jeff Bonde plays the claiming game well, winning a fourth of the time that his runners compete for a tag. But a concern here is that Beautiful Spirit's form reads as a need to lead type, and there are several front runners in this field.
RACE 7 - The San Marcos (Grade 2) - Ten Furlongs Turf
A’s
# 1 Slim Shady (ML 6-1)
# 7 Lucayan (ML 6-1)
C’s
# 2 Vagabond Shoes (ML 9-2)
# 6 Jeranimo (ML 7-2)
# 13 Temeraine (ML 6-1)
# 14 Dubai You X Y Z (ML 6-1)
Slim Shadey (GB) won this event last year and two years back, and paid double-digits to Win both times. Lucayan (Fr) won the twelve furlong Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup last time out, and took the show behind Vagabond Shoes' Place in the Grade 2 John Henry Turf Classic at today's distance.
Vagabond Shoes (Ire) and Jeranimo are two that have proven that they can win at this level; but the layoff is a concern for Vagabond Shoes, while the concern for Jeranimo is the distance.
Tereraine won the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup last Fall, and was just a half length behind Lucayan at the wire in the Hollywood Turf Cup. Tereraine is ridden by Gary Stevens and trained by Tom Proctor; the Stevens / Proctor combo has been winning well more than their fair share this meet.
Dubai You X Y Z has had a fine career, loves the Santa Anita grass (two Wins and a Place in three tries) and has the best Tomlinson Rating for the distance in today's field. But this is a huge step up the class ladder for Dubai You X Y Z, so it may be wiser to limit his usage to your vertical wagers.
RACE 8 - The Robert B Lewis (Grade 2) - Eight and a Half Furlongs Dirt
A’s
# 3 Midnight Hawk (ML 9-5)
C’s
# 1 Candy Boy (ML 2-1)
# 7 Chitu (ML 7-2)
Midnight Hawk is a perfect two-for-two in his career, having taken the Grade 3 Sham his last time out. Midnight Hawk is trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith. The Morning Line of 9-5 seems unlikely; I expect the Final Odds to be closer to 4-5.
Candy Boy looked impressive taking the Place behind Shared Belief in the Garde 1 Cash Cal Futurity; but having Candy Ride (Arg) as his sire and an In Excess (Ire) mare as his dam suggests that Candy Boy can be expected to do better on synthetic surfaces than on real dirt.
Chitu is the "other Baffert" in this one; and, like his stablemate Midnight Hawk, is a perfect two-for-two lifetime. Chitu will have the advantage today of the outside post. Martin Garcia gets the mount.
RACE 9 - Clm $32k - Eight Furlongs Turf
A’s
# 9 Trelawny (ML 5-2)
C’s
# 1 Sharp Richard (ML 15-1)
# 7 Dreamcatcher (ML 5-1)
Had he not been scratched, # 10 Square Dancer (ML 7-2) would have been an "A" selection.
Trelawny won at this class level at today's distance over this turf course last time out. That win was Trelawny's second career win on the Santa Anita grass in four tries. The bullet work on Jan 27 suggests that he exited that race just fine, so there's no reason why Trelawny can't do it again today.
Sharp Richard is two-for-four lifetime at this distance (with one Show). Expect Sharp Richard to be positioned right behind the front runners entering the stretch. Trainer Matthew Chew does quite well in all the relevant stat categories.
Dreamcatcher drops in for a tag for the first time in his career, and has a late running style that should serve him well in a field with several front runners.
The scratch of Square Dancer in the finale coupled with our decision to make Midnight Hawk our single "A" in The Robert B Lewis (rather than using both Midnight Hawk and Candy Boy as "A" selections) means that today's investment is a lot less than what we're used to. Playing the selections Crist style (i.e., all the "A's" on one ticket, and then tickets with "A's" in three legs and "C's" in the other) should give you tickets that look like this:
All A Entries
$1.00 P4: 2,5,6,7 with 1,7 with 3 with 9 $8.00
$0.50 P4: 2,5,6,7 with 2,6,13,14 with 3 with 9 $8.00
$0.50 P4: 2,5,6,7 with 1,7 with 1,7 with 9 $8.00
$0.50 P4: 2,5,6,7 with 1,7 with 3 with 1,7 $8.00
Total: $32.00
Post Time for Race 6 is 6:03 EST / 3:03 PST. Good luck to all.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
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