
Santa Anita for Thursday 17 Feb 2011
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Average card at best today to start the new race week. Next week we go to 5 days of racing a week for the remainder of the meet. Hope the field sizes don't fall off too much.
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race 1Â Â Â slightly above average clarity
1 Preferred Behavior  solid debut 2 back......and a respectable run in MSW distance affair on the turf.....turf legged up for 1st ever on conventional dirt is usually a good thing
3 Captain Beau   race lacks any animals with a speed profile so my guess is P Val will hustle early and get the front end here...wire to wire shot
2 Warren's Magic Man  has shown life in both lifetime races especially in his last where he had a detrimental early rush after being shuffled back...this hints at having some speed...shot to sit up close in first ever at a route...very positive rider switch
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race 2Â Â Â average clarity
1 Streakin' Mohican  just claimed by O'Neill and training as if he likes his new barn...should be prominent from the get go...very consistent sort
5 Bulldogger  solid work series for this Baffert laid up colt who removes the blinkers for today...probably ready to roll
2 Uh Oh Bango  10 month hiatus from the track but training as if he maybe ready fresh off of the bench.....has run well versus better and all his racing experience is on conventional dirt tracks
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race 3   average clarity (selections if the race is switched to the main track: 7-6-2-1)
7 Squad  strong pace and final time in lone grass effort run last July....long layoff but training up a storm for Proctor who takes over the conditioning...bred well to handle turf or dirt
2 Ghost Ride  expensive 1st timer is also training as if he is a good one....trainer is solid with 1sters on the turf or the dirt
6 Reality Ride  good move forward in last 1st out after the claim......1st ever on the grass is the question mark....average grass pedigree...as good a shot as anyone if this gelding takes a liking to the green stuff
5 Take A Yard  34 to 1 strongly suggests the last race was the tune-up to be full throttle for today....very positive rider switch to help get the job done
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race 4Â Â Â average clarity
5 Cape Truth   last race turf to the main track was a good one...turf to dirt today....should sit on or near the lead in a race lacking pacesetters
2 Bestdressed  1st ever on the new SA surface was a bad trip strong effort....would easily be top pick if it wasn't for the fact this gelding is a deep closer in a race seemingly set for those in contention early
3 Maui Mark  last win came in lone lifetime conventional dirt race which was run at Fpx...and....it was coming off of a turf race just like today
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race 5Â Â Â average clarity
1 Member Ofthe Tribe  solid last and now two strong positives....significant rider upgrade and the right to improve 2nd out after the layoff
5 Clocker Moment  bad gate horse didn't break as bad in last after getting off the difficult 1 hole in 2 consecutive races....decent start and dropping can get him over the maiden hump....no pun intended
2 Quietly Waiting  blinkers on in last and it sure worked...better speed and final time just like his trainer was hoping for
8 Johnnie Gold  what we want for this fellow is his effort 2 back where he earned a significant adjusted for trouble fig with a very bad trip
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race 6Â Â Â slightly below average clarity
1 Fog Alert  trainer is solid in all the relevant historical training categories (blinkers off...down 2 classes....turf to dirt)...sure seems like this gelding is well meant today
2 Tiz True  needed last most likely and can carry his speed much further today possibly all the way to the winners circle
5 Tropical Heat  good stretch run in last closing well into very soft fractions.....more pace likely today and can move forward 3rd out after the layoff
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race 7Â Â Â slightly below average clarity
1 In The Paint  wound up and seemingly ready to roll fresh off of tightly spaced interval training which Mitchell is good at...only race on conventional dirt is much better then his 6th pace finish would indicate
4 Coo Cachoo  lone speed is a dangerous thing and that what we have here....new barn has to be thrilled with the lack of speed in this affair
2 Ain  impressive win 1st ever on the lawn and it was off of a layoff....very consistent animal on the dirt....will need more speed than anticipated to show his best late close
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race 8Â Â Â average clarity
9 Streets Of Heaven  has been in good form for quite some time (longer then what is the norm)and now we get a significant rider upgrade...should be a ton he he can hold his form
1 Lord Avalon  high % trainer has been sending out clunkers so far but lookout if this drop down is still in good health.....often new trainers on the scene will toss out some clunkers 1st to make the local boys skeptical of claiming his stock
6 Lit'sgoodlookngray  sharp drill at GG a week ago and ships in.....seems better suited to AW tracks but does have some ability in conventional dirt surfaces and drops to his lowest level ever
2 Concerto's Thunder  large drop in claiming price seems to make sense because this gelding is the ultimate hanger with 10 2nd place finishes and only 2 wins in 36 lifetime races
7 Waafi  decent 1st ever on "real dirt" and seems to be rebounding in form....Rosario couldn't know this horse much better having rode him in his last 10 races and maybe more
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