MARTY'S RACE-A-DAY

Santa Anita Park, 2011/Canon PhotoStitch by Martin Brady

Race 3/ Santa Anita/ June 7, 2015

The 37th Running of Affirmed Stakes (Grade III) $100,000  

STAKES  FOR THREE-YEAR-OLDS. By subscription of $100 each to accompany the nomination closed Thursday, May 28, 2015 with 12. Supplementary nomination of $2,000 due at time of entry. $1,500 additional to start, with $100,000 guaranteed with $60,000 to the winner, $20,000 to second, $12,000 to third, $6,000 to fourth and $2,000 to fifth. 123 lbs. Non-winners of a Graded Stake at One Mile or Over since December 7, allowed 3 lbs. Non-winners of a Graded Stake at One Mile or Over since June 7, 2014, allowed 5 lbs. A trophy will be presented to the winning owner.. One Mile And One Sixteenth.

#1 Gimme Da Lute--This impressive Baffert trainee makes the leap from sprints to his first route. Jockey Martin Garcia has led the 3-year-old to two wins and a 2d place finish in his brief career, all since Jan. 2015. Plenty of talent here, and an equal amount of curiosity about how he'll perform adding two-and-a-half furlongs to his previous regimen. 5-2 on the ML.

#2 Cyrus Alexander--A talented and well-tested Hollendorfer 3-year-old with good experience running route races, including several at this distance. Results are good, too, as Cyrus Alexander rarely finishes out of the money. He has good instincts and a determined stalking style. If there's any critique, it's that the horse sometimes doesn't quite pound it hard enough once he makes his move. That said, he also knows how to cover lots of ground in the stretch, picking off the early speedsters and always putting himself in position to win. Bejarano rides. ML is 4-1.

#3 Cross the Line--Yet another serious-minded Hollendorfer 3-year-old has nothing to be ashamed of, losing his last two derby races to horses like Dortmund and Metaboss. Prior to that, Cross the Line took first in the California Derby in Frisco as well as a maiden special weight affair just prior to that while still a 2-year-old. Talented horse and will compete here. Gets a new rider: Corey Nakatani. 10-1 on the ML. 

#4 Om--No matter what happens today or anytime else in the future for that matter, Om can always say that, on August 9, 2014, he left Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the dust at the top of the lane at Del Mar, on his way to a dominant victory in a $75K maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds. Om's a decent-looking horse and was a winner last time out in his first try at a 1-mile route. Fernando Perez rides again. Getting some love here at 2-1 on the ML.

#5 Prospect Park--No disgrace to have lost your last two races to Dortmund. Prior to that, Prospect Park finished ITM in 4 straight route races, including two first places. The rider is Kent Desormeaux, who inherited the reins from Joe Talamo for trainer Clifford Sise. Looking good at 6-5 ML.

PICKS: 

1. Prospect Park

2. Cyrus Alexander

3. Om

/mab