A girl’s gotta have goals: let’s try to take down Thursday’s Pick 6 at Hollywood Park!
Picks … 2, 5 / 8, 11 / 3, 8 / 3, 8 / 1, 2, 9 / 7, 15
Leg #1: 2:03pP/5:03pE … $50k Allowance for 3&up going 1-1/16 mi. (A)
1 – Pivotal Queen – her dam won a US stake, and she liked the poly at 7f in the UK
2 – Lullabytime – fits great here: loves Hollywood, synthetic, and the distance
3 – Life by R R – gets 5+lbs on the field for being 3yo, been on the upswing since moving to Frankel
4 – Grace Anatomy – owes me money fr/ her failed Oaks trail last year; likes (not loves) these conditions: Hollywood, synthetic, and the distance
5 – Smooth Performer – best Beyer of bunch (a year ago in a G2), gets GoGo back up, and loves the distance
6 – Birdie Birdie – never been on synthetic or at Hollywood, and only time at distance was a turf win at Del Mar against nothing; switch to Bejarano is interesting … beatable favorite!
7 – Tidal Dance – likes the distance but may not like synthetic; doesn’t really have the speed figures to run w/ this bunch
Leg #2: 2:35pP/5:35pE … $20k Maiden Claiming ($40k tag) for 3&up CA-bred going 6.5f (A)
1 – Free Lunch – liked the distance in his debut & should benefit fr/ the class drop
2 – Cee’s Dizzy – stats don’t work in this guy’s favor: trainer is 0-for on 1st starts, debuting in this condition, on synthetic, and with this jockey
scratch 3 – Swingin Jim
4 – Classical Bartok – debut can maybe be forgiven due to slow break and he does get the blinkers added today
5 – Practical Magic – has the best Beyer of the bunch, which came in this condition last out
6 – Brother Albert – taking the blinkers off won’t change the fact that he’s streaky and just not a racehorse
7 – Al N Con – showed ability two starts back in this condition and could be a play here
8 – Papoose La Moose – fun name and showed something three-back at this level w/ GoGo up (as he is today)
9 – Adam Suances – showed absolutely nothing in his debut at Golden Gate and his SoCal works haven’t been stellar (I think we’re asking the added blinkers to do a lot here)
10 – Stimulus Package – the other horse debuting here; again, the stats aren’t in his favor
11 – Jacob’s Little Bro – best thing he’s got going is the class drop from MSW to MCL (trainer’s 46% doing it)
12 – Best of Intentions – ran his best first time out for new trainer Carla Gaines and jockey Rafael Bejarano
Leg #3: 3:06pP/6:06pE … $50k Allowance Optional Claiming ($80k tag) for 3yo F going 1 mi. (T)
1 – Andalacia – obviously unsure at the break in US debut last out against a good group and deserves a second shot
2 – Spring Tale – making her US debut and her first start in 9 months; morning works say she should be ready
3 – Always Auditioning – owner/trainer Bobby Frankel (dangerous!); definitely likes the distance, but doesn’t like to win by much and that’s dangerous
4 – Forever My Love – has never run a bad race and is really the only speed; could certainly steal it
5 – Play Nine – can’t seem to put two good races together and last time was really good, so today’s suspect (would be less so if we were on the poly)
6 – Dailies – loves both Hollywood and the distance and seems to run best on the turf
7 – False Impression – is 1-for-1 at the distance, which is coincidentally her only win in 8 starts
8 – Hameildaeme – the fun name has never been worse than second in two starts since coming to the U.S.
Leg #4: 3:37pP/6:37pE … $24k Allowance for 3&up F&M going 6f (A)
1 – Sweetpea – (what my mom called me as a kid) the horse has bounced between barns this year, but has the best Beyer by far of this bunch and is back with Mullins, who is winning 19% with sprinters
2 – Joint Agreement – likes (not loves) Hollywood and isn’t really great at this distance or on the synthetic, but did run a decent second at this condition last out
3 – Pedo Viejo – may have a problem with rushing to the lead, but it’s been working for him so far and gets a massive jockey upgrade in GoGo
4 – Indomitable – showed some real grit last out against a weaker bunch but this is a strange spot to come back to
5 – Martini Mixer – she’s back to the conditions she liked so much she won in her debut
6 – Sky Marni – has tried to beat this condition five times in four months and it just ain’t workin’ for her
7 – Embroiled – broke her maiden in her debut at a similar condition and fits nicely into this group; trainer is winning second starts at 36%
8 – Asanti – broke her maiden in her third start last out against a similar bunch and is a decent price
9 – Spacy Tracy – broke her maiden very nicely in her second start but the four months between those two makes me think we have a soundness issue (it’s been one month since her last start)
10 – Peace Roll – broke her maiden against a similar bunch last out and her works say she might be pretty good
Leg #5: 4:08pP/7:08pE … $75k Kerlan Memorial Handicap for 3&up going 6f (T)
1 – Get Funky – won this race last year, but he’s been on a bit of a slide; a series of strong works and the change to GoGo says he’s a definite contender
2 – Delta Storm – likes Hollywood and loves the distance, though this is a slight step up in class (he’s faced stakes company before – and won – but this isn’t a restricted stake)
scratch 3 – Cherokee Heaven
4 – Wild Diplomat – steps up against stakes company for the first time and has the Beyers to be competitive, but probably better suited for a Hit the Board wager vs. a Win one
5 – Candy Pull – has tried stakes company before with disastrous results, but he does love the 6f condition at Hollywood Park
6 – Nericon King – is the Australian shipper making his US debut; he’s shown to be a bit streaky, so it’ll be interesting to see how the five month layoff and new country effects him
7 – Backbackbackgone – was supposed to be the next coming of Secretariat after breaking his maiden by 10 last year, but it just didn’t quite turn out that way; no doubt he’s good, but he just needs to get into a rhythmn of winning and he could start again today (he was 7th last out)
8 – Sky Cape – likes Hollywood but it’s been a year since he really showed his ability; it’s about time for him to get back to form
9 – Hewitts – is really the only pure speed horse and has been facing the best turf sprinters in the country, just not beating them; this is definitely the kind of race where he jumps up and wins
Leg #6: 4:38pP/7:38pE … $13k Claiming ($10.5-$12.5k tag) for 3&up going 6f
1 – Lord in Command – takes the blinkers off and tries for the second win of his career, but it’s been at least a year since he’s run well
2 – Bass River – never worse than fourth in five starts, and this is the lowest tag he’s ever been in for
3 – Thunderfrmdownundr – fun name, bad horse; his finishes are 7-1-7, so if he completes the pattern, he wins here
scratch 4 – Mr. Inn Zone
5 – Tale of a Rockstar – couldn’t beat a worse fields than this
6 – Magna Cum Laude – been facing worse recently and has been running pretty well, so he factors to run well today
7 – All Money No Love – only bad race was last time out when he had trouble, so he’s a solid favorite against this bunch
8 – Smart of War – ran badly at this condition last time out and was running worse against better
9 – Don’t Forget Muq – broke his maiden last out and has steady works since
10 – Seven Below – takes the blinkers off but that probably won’t get him any closer to the winner’s circle
11 – Engine Sixty Nine – is making his fourth start since being off over 16 months, but just hasn’t been the same horse since
12 – Flatter Me Again – ran horribly against similar last out, but cuts back to the distance he likes most
13 – I’m Bulletproof – broke his maiden last out and drops in for an even lower tag, so should be a factor
14 – Strength – hasn’t won since ’07 and has been facing worse
15 – Senor Afortunado – likes to run in the money against this condition, so don’t count him out
scratch 16 – Elusive Chief
