“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” - Donovan Bailey
It's Labor Day weekend in the USA, and concurrent with this three day celebration comes the final weekend of the Summer Del Mar meet. To help celebrate the occasion the good folks in Southern California have written a card with two Graded Stakes, both of which can be found in the final four contests on the program. So with that let's get to it, as I take another run at The Late Pick Four at the place Where The Turf Meets The Surf.
RACE 7 - (F) The John C Mabee (Grade 2) - Nine Furlongs Turf
A's
# 1 Vasilika (Morning Line 9-5)
B's
# 10 Meal Ticket (ML 20-1)
C's
# 2 Paved (ML 12-1)
# 3 La Force (Ger) (ML 12-1)
# 4 Toinette (ML 3-1)
# 5 Ahimsa (ML 8-1)
# 6 Ippodamia's Girl (ML 30-1)
# 7 Juliet Foxtrot (GB) (ML 7-2)
# 8 Quebec (ML 15-1)
# 9 Elysea's World (Ire) (ML 12-1)
Vasilika looks best here; but then, Vasilika always looks best. And for good reason: because she usually is best, including when she won last year's running of this event. So Vasilika should probably be a single here; but, for the second week in a row, I'm doubling the cost of my main ticket by adding another runner to the big Favorite in the Grade 2 contest in the sequence.
As can be seen above, the "B" Selection that I'm pairing up with Vasilika on the main ticket is Meal Ticket. While Meal Ticket has been defeated multiple times in the past by Vasilika, Meal Ticket has shown an affinity for this turf course; and Meal Ticket is a proven winner at Saturday's distance. In addition, Meal Ticket is most likely going to leave the gate as the longest shot on the board.
So, in what will quite probably be proven to be a foolish decision when this race is run, I will be going two deep in this leg, slotting the rest of the field into place as backup "C" Selections.
RACE 8 - MSW - Five and a Half Furlongs Dirt
A’s
# 3 Backshot (ML 7-2)
B's
# 1 Zimba Warrior (ML 12-1)
# 6 Hydrogen (ML 5-2)
C's
# 2 Thunder Code (ML 20-1)
# 4 Honor Among Men (ML 8-1)
# 5 American Theorem (ML 3-1)
# 7 Three Footer (ML 20-1)
# 8 Whirl Candy (ML 7-2)
# 9 Big Hoof Dynamite (ML 20-1)
These are juveniles, with only two experienced runners in the field: Zimba Warrior and Hydrogen, who both took the Show at this class level (in separate contests) in their respective debuts. Backshot, like Hydrogen, is trained by Bob Baffert; and Backshot looks best among the first timers. Indeed, Backshot has been working well enough that I believe that he is the most likely winner in this field. The backup "C" Selections are everyone else.
RACE 9 - (F) The Del Mar Debutante (Grade 1) - Seven Furlongs Dirt
A’s
# 7 Inspiressa (ML 5-2)
B's
# 2 Comical (ML 12-1)
# 4 Leucothea (ML 3-1)
# 5 Bast (ML 7-2)
# 6 Powerfulattraction (ML 8-1)
C's
# 1 Lazy Daisy (ML 20-1)
# 3 Pure Xena (ML 6-1)
# 8 Stellar Sound (ML 6-1)
Inspiressa and Bast filled out the Exacta in their respective debuts on August 11. Comical is the only runner here to have defeated winners, doing so in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga.
Trainer Peter Miller had to drop Leucothea in for a tag in order for her to graduate; but Leucothea won so convincingly that it seems fair to presume that she can compete with these. Powerfulattraction took the Place in the Grade 2 Sorrento last time out. The backup "C" Selections are the rest of the field.
RACE 10 - [S] MSW - Eight and a Half Furlongs Turf
A’s
# 2 Jamming Eddy (ML 7-2)
B's
# 1 Loaded Joe (ML 4-1)
# 3 Play Money (ML 5-1)
# 5 Fredikstad (ML 8-1)
# 8 No Parking Here (ML 12-1)
# 9 Bud Knight (ML 12-1)
# 10 Fravel (ML 3-1)
# 11 Cool Your Jets (ML 8-1)
C's
None
Scratch # 4 Endless Tale (No Line); # 6 Watch the Dip (ML 15-1); and # 7 Cafe Clara (ML 20-1)
Yeah, I'm going "ALL" here. Probably not the wisest of moves; but if by some miracle I get Meal Ticket home, and guess right in both juvenile contests, I deserve to collect.
OK, that's the analysis. Playing my tickets in modified Crist fashion, I get:
All A Entries
$1.00 P4: 1 with 3 with 7 with 2 $1.00
All A Entries with All B Entries
$0.50 P4: 1,10 with 1,3,6 with 2,4,5,6,7 with ALL $120.00
A's with One C
$0.50 P4: 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 with 3 with 7 with 2 $4.00
$0.50 P4: 1 with 2,4,5,7,8,9 with 7 with 2 $3.00
$0.50 P4: 1 with 3 with 1,3,8 with 2 $1.50
Total: $129.50
Post Time for Race 7 is 8:15 EDT / 5:15 PDT. Good luck to all.
Peace and Love,
Jimbo
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