MARTY'S RACE-A-DAY

Santa Anita Park, 2011/Canon PhotoStitch by Martin Brady

RACE 1 /SANTA ANITA/ JUNE 11, 2015

ALLOWANCE OPTIONAL CLAIMING $40,000. PURSE $58,000. (PLUS UP TO $17,400 TO CAL-BREDS) FOR THREE YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE NEVER WON $10,000 ONCE OTHER THAN MAIDEN, CLAIMING OR STARTER OR WHICH HAVE NEVER WON TWO RACES OR OPTIONAL CLAIMING PRICE OF $40,000.

Three Year Olds, 118 Lbs; Older, 124 Lbs

Non-winners Of A Race Other Than Maiden, Claiming Or Starter Allowed 2 Lbs. Claiming Price $40,000. Six And One Half Furlongs.

#1 Micks Miracle--D'Amato trainee has but one race under his belt (Dec. 26). The 3-year-old came into it against a fairly crowded field and impressed with a big finish and a victory. Tries the same distance today with Joe Talamo aboard, and 8-5 on the ML. 

#2 Unblunted--This 3-year-old from the Michael McCarthy barn comes off a five-month layoff. He started strong in Fall 2014 with two second-place finishes, but has disappointed since being tried at longer distances. Should be more comfortable here at 6.5 Fs but loses Talamo as jockey. Able and upcoming Flavien Prat will be in the irons. 6-1 ML.

#3 Stringent--Another 3-year-old with an impressive debut, Stringent won a 5.5 F test on May 17 and won it going away against a crowded field. He appeared to have plenty left in the tank too, which bodes well for today, when he needs to go one more furlong.  Alex Solis rides him again. 2-1 ML.

#4 K Thirty Eight--After three rookie races in early 2014, this 4-year-old was on hiatus until returning in 2015. He has won both recent starts, one at 5.5 F, the other at 6 F, and now attempts to stretch it out just a little bit more. The wins were impressive enough, and can be contrasted with the horse's unfortunate previous tendency to blow leads approaching the wire. Alas, Alex Solis can't be two places at once, and he vacates K Thirty Eight in favor of Stringent here, so Kieren Fallon will ride. 9-5 ML .

#5 Gold Chaser--The 5-year-old Gold Chaser has raced a lot recently, no less than 4 times at SA in April and May. Results are mixed but include an April 19 victory. Gold Chaser runs in decent company generally and has proved versatile enough to make good efforts in sprints and routes. He ALSO loses his most recent jockey, with Flavien Prat aboard Unblunted today. Capable Drayden Van Dyke takes over. Bit of a longshot at 12-1 ML, but if the youngsters panic, the vet might be there to pick up the pieces.  

PICKS:

1. Stringent

2. Micks Miracle

3. Unblunted