Sunday Pick Six Carryover

Pick six analysis by Brad Free

Fourth Race
1. Coo Cachoo 2. Via Verde 3. Valkyrie Missile
COO CACHOO shortens to a sprint after he set a wicked pace and tired to third in a $20k claimer at a mile and a sixteenth. Three horses that finished behind him returned to win; 'CACHOO will be on or near the front. VIA VERDE drops into a claiming race, while making his first start in two months. He runs well fresh, fits at this level ($25k claiming) and will roll late. The jockey-trainer combo of Mike Pender and Martin Pedroza is productive; the past four years they are 21-for-101, a 21 percent win rate that produced a significant flat-bet profit ($2.99 return for each $2 win bet). VALKYRIE MISSILE drops a notch and should get a good trip from the outside post.

Fifth Race
1. Our Last Monte 2. Joburg Star 3. My Slew
OUR LAST MONTE was not disgraced last out when he moved up in class and finished fifth in a Calbred special-weight on turf. But he fits best at this maiden-20 level (in the money three of his four previous starts). The 5-year-old gelding has speed, he ran well last winter for jockey David Flores, and he could find himself loose on the lead. JOBURG STAR returns from a long layoff (18 months) and drops to maiden-claiming for a trainer that does well with this move. The past five years, Peter Miler is 8-for-30 with maiden-claimers off six months or more. MY SLEW tumbles suspiciously in class. Runner-up two starts back in a Calbred special-weight, he suddenly shows up "cheap" after a slow-start, fourth-place finish in the same race the top choice exits. The placement is odd for MY SLEW.

Sixth Race
1. Dewey's Special 2. Tigah 3. Mega Heat
Nearly two years away from the races, 7-year-old DEWEY'S SPECIAL faces a tall order winning first start back. But this would not be the first time he returned from a layoff with a victory. In spring 2009 he won a turf route at Hollywood Park while racing for the first time in a year. Now trained by Jeff Mullins, the California-bred stakes winner is entered for a $62,500 claim tag and has a steady work pattern for his comeback. He is the best horse if he is ready to fire. European import TIGAH makes his U.S. debut for trainer John Sadler, after a good 3-year-old campaign in France. He improved each successive start, and missed by only a nose in a $75k stakes in September. He appears to have worked well for his return. MEGA HEAT scratched from the $100k Sensational Star on Saturday to run in this allowance. He figures close off his fourth-place finish in the Cal Cup Classic last fall.

Seventh Race
1. Boat Trip 2. Zackn'mat 3. Verne
Unless a hotshot first-time starter is hidden in this 3-year-old maiden sprint, the race might boil down to a pair of route-to-sprint colts exiting a highly rated route won by Fed Biz. The call is BOAT TRIP, who loomed a threat at the quarter pole of that one-mile race, and then lost his punch. He ran like a horse that wants a shorter distance, and he gets it cutting back to seven furlongs. The inside post is a challenge, but each start has been better than the one before. Can we get 4-1 or higher on the best bet of the day? A similar comment may apply to ZACKN'MAT, runner-up in the Fed Biz race. ZACKN'MAT is not quick, but he is improving, and seven furlongs might be an ideal distance. VERNE is an Unbridled's Song colt and the first foal out of stakes-winning mare Somethinaboutbetty. Workouts appear decent. First-time starter STIRRED UP and comebacker BRANNAMAN are Bob Baffert-trainees worth consideration.

Eighth Race
1. Unzip Me 2. Catchy Tune 3. Givine
Everything looks perfect for 13-for-24 racemare UNZIP ME, the class of this $70k stakes while facing a pace scenario that favors her front-running/pace-pressing style. Although she finished a disappointing third in her Jan. 2 comeback, that race unfolded at a hot pace and she went flat. But in this race, there is no other speed. UNZIP ME breaks from the advantageous outside post, she could fall into the lead, and on paper she can be long gone. Not sure if she is worth backing at a short price, however. At age 6, it is possible she has lost a step. She lost three times as the odds-on favorite in recent months, and was third last out as the 6-5 chalk. Nonetheless, the classy veteran mare is the one to beat. CATCHY TUNE came back firing her first start following a layoff of more than four months. Runner-up in this stakes a year ago, the lightly raced (3-for-11) mare may still have room to improve at age 5, and she figures to be within striking range of the top choice. GIVINE often promises more than she delivers, but she did have trouble last out in the G3 Monrovia and has knocked heads with good company.

Ninth Race
1. Capalatte 2. Coparcenary 3. Argue My Case
CAPALATTE prefers the runner-up position (one win, seven seconds), and yet she might be the right horse to win a grim Sunday finale. A restricted (non-winners of two) $12.5k claimer for filly-mare sprinters, CAPALATTE has just enough speed to be forwardly placed in a race that is likely to unfold at a slow clip. There just isn't any speed. COPARCENARY pressed her way to victory in a maiden-20; her fractions suggest she also will be on top of the leaders. ARGUE MY CASE is a seven-furlong specialist (one win, one third), if there is such a thing as a "specialist" at this this level.