Deputy Darling was a disappointment yesterday at Gulfstream finishing 7th. I didn't get to see the race but did read the recap, well not much in her case. It read like she went on a tour of the course, strange for a Micheal Maker horse. The only consolation was Mr. Illman at the DRF liked her chances too, so it's good to know I didn't misread it entirely. Today the DRF is tossing us another maiden special weight, but this time it's at Santa Anita. It will be the 5th race on turf, a sprint of six and a half furlongs for 3YO fillies. As a reminder, the Santa Anita turf course starts on a downhill run, it can be tricky.
My opinion it's a wide open field, plenty of first time starters and the others have seen little racing. Overall out of the field of 10, I like the following:
#10 Fast Moka Too, #9 Darling Dodie, #6 Patty's Pulpit #4 Unbridled Ambition and #3 Allswellonceagain.
I have gone over this field for hours, and can't really land on anyone with a strong conviction, so it get's down to price. If the #10 Fast Moka Too can hold at 3/1 or better, then I go there. Ron Ellis horses usually do well coming off a layoff, he hits 33% on maidens, and her last outing was a solid place finish. Her breeding is good and the workouts have been solid. If the odds go down then I will go with #9 Darling Dodie. She is a first time starter (gulp), with good breeding, nice workouts and comes from a successful barn, Mike Puype. The morning line is 6/1 and anything close to that would attract my attention.
Tomorrow and Sunday, I will be blogging the Weekend Handicapping at http://www.horseplayersassociation.org
Results:
Starts: 3
Wins: 0
Place: 0
Show: 1
