Santa Anita for Sunday 22 May 2016
After today's card at Santa Anita The Racing Digest is basically shut down until the first Friday in June. Look forward to be being with you then.Â
So so card today. Let's cal it a 5 on the 1 to 10 scale of things.
Best of luck as always!
race 1 Â Â average clarity
5  Saint Dermot  only mount of the day for stout rider Gonzalez........five year old gelding sure appreciates the SA dirt (8 2 2 2).......hasn't even hit the board in his other 10 starts elsewhere......solid wide trip 2nd in latest......like the step up of multiple levels......feeling good most likely
4  A Colt Following  his favorite distance by far.....and he is 4 for 10 at SA and 0 for 8 elsewhere........highly likely to get a nice stalk position which is right up his alley
1  Out of Patience  nicely improved in his last two races with the addition of blinkers.......smartly is stepped up by his new trainer Gary Stute following the claim.....fits fine if he can handle the rigors of running off of only 8 days rest
7 Â Broadway Nika
race 2 Â Â average clarity
3  Watch Me Now   K Desormeaux is very dangerous dropping multiple levels which is the case here.......3 of 4 lifetime races fit well here for this filly........and two of them were with brother Kent aboard
2  Warren's Super Cat  plenty of cheap speed in this affair should set things up well for this late running six-year-old mare......I'd be rather surprised if she wasn't a factor in the late stages
7  It'sallyoursbaby  back in the Gaines barn after two races elsewhere.......and takes that ever dangerous MSW to maiden 20K drop......but it is not very encouraging that Gaines is 1 for her last 25 MSW to MC.....dangerous but definitely 3rd selection
9 Â Dixie Dame
race 3 Â Â average clarity
3  Shh She's Ours  rather sure this speedy filly is going to open up a clear lead and with Espinoza up that is one dangerous proposition for her competitors in this race
2  Gloryzapper  away since late Oct but working like she is ready fresh and if she is she is 2 for 2 sprinting ......one sprint at 6F & one sprint at 7F.......so 6 1/2F should be just fine.....trainer can do no wrong these days
1  Alwaysabridesmaid  improved since Hollendorfer put the blinkers on 3 races back......... ran a distance 2nd to her barn mate (who is a monster) in her latest.....better spot for her here
race 4 Â Â average clarity
4  Individual Design  might be a good claim by V Garcia as this mare is ( 4 1 1 ) in her last 7 and she seems to appreciate her new home Santa Anita
3  Ipray  by far at her best with today's rider Bejarano up (5 2 2 0) and he remains in the saddle for today
1  Bijoux  has handled both dirt routes at Lrc well........only dirt route endeavor at SA is not as good.....deserves another shot as she sure trains well on the SA surface
race 5 Â Â below average clarity
1  Red Car Mac  trained well prior to debut which was only so so.......and training well since his MSW debut......drops into maiden claiming and catches a soft looking field......believe he will be tough if he runs to his morning work this afternoon
5  Big Guy Benny  has speed but lacks endurance.......but he just put in an improved work.......trainer might have discovered something about him for the better
4  Ree O Kerr  on the decline.......needs a rebound......dropping into maiden claiming for the 1st time which might help get a bounce back out of him.......major player if it does
6 Â Arch Kisser
race 6 Â Â average clarity
7  Vinz Clortho  nice MSW debut at Lrc for this D'Amato 2nd time starter......and a nice tightly spaced series of drills since......seems likely to move forward today and if that is the case he is easy to make as out number one selection
3  Ideal  didn't show a whole lot in 4 races in 2014/15 but he is training like Hollendorfer figured out something about his four-year for the better
4  Accelerate  hard debut effort to evaluate as he dueled in extremely slow pace and logically stuck around for a 1/2 length beaten 2nd.......we should find out more about what Accelerate is all about today
2 Â Jaw Dropper
race 7 Â Â average clarity
5  Agustina de Aragon  very solid efforts in last two grass routes since switching over to Bejarano.......won as far as 1 1/4 on the grass but I beleive 1 1/8th to be her best distance
2  Sweet  should be able to get a nice ground saving near the front position in affair that seems to slightly favor those close up early........handling 1 1/8th is somewhat of a ? mark.......but Mandella likely believes he will handle it.....that's good enough for me
6  Grandma's Hands  only one race (9 March at Tampa) since 2014......but.....Drysdale can be dangerous with these kind 1st time running in his barn....last two races before exiting Ireland way back is 2013 are good.....bred to run all day
3 Â Watch This Cat
race 8 Â Â average clarity
6  Sparkling Peg  very solid improvement albeit on an off track......but I don't believe the off going was necessarily the catalyst for it as this filly has done little wrong when racing at 6 furlongs or less (5 1 1 1)
9  Alexita  drops to the lowest level available for this filly.........seems somewhat suspicious following a very solid effort in a protected race..........but then again her only lifetime win came the only time she was up for sale
10  Stellata  if this filly fires her last I should have placed her on top.....but...... since her last which was her best ever the works are rather dull........seems like a coin flip
5 Â L. A. Magic
race 9 Â Â above average clarity
2  Lieutenant Colonel  highly likely to be loose on the lead and loose in a Grade 2 with Bejarano milking the pace......so so pedigree to get the distance but not too concerned about as this gelding won a 9 furlong race with fast pace.......so if he gets a soft pace today 12 furlongs seems doable
5  El Huerfano  very strong efforts both hidden by bad trips especially his race 2 back.......continues to work like he is more than capable of taking down a Grade 2....here's our comment prior to his last race: "eye-popping powerful wide run on a good rail day in his last his 1st ever at a route on conventional dirt......and in his only other race on conventional dirt he won a small Stakes race breaking the 109 flat barrier and didn't get the best of trips....seems as if he has spent too much time competing on the AW or the turf"
4  Point Piper  not out of this if he brings his "A game".....and of course gets a good trip......training as if he has held form
7 Â Hard Aces
race 10 Â Â average clarity
8  Behest  D'Amato and company wanted her in a state-bred alw race on May 8th but she didn't draw in from the also eligible list......willing to run here for much less of a purse and risk a claim.....why......likely because soon the hill will close till fall to be worked on......the risk makes sense and she should be tough at today's' level
3  Moonie  just fired her best ever down the hill.......well placed to win at today's $25K level likely for the same reasons as mentioned above.....still she might need a little more today if our top choice runs the race I believe she will
1  Pearl de Vere  has slipped of late so the drop makes sense......still she might need a slight rebound to still compete against our top two........right trainer/rider to get that accomplished
9 Â Fruity
10 Â Blake's Magic
6 Â Filly On Fire