$37,205 pick six carryover provides a challenge
Hitting the pick six Friday at Los Alamitos will not be easy, and bettors able to navigate the sequence (races 3-8) can anticipate a payoff that corresponds to the difficulty.
A $37,205 carryover is at stake, and if new money is $157,000 or less, the Friday pick six will effectively be a zero-takeout wager. Los Alamitos offers a traditional pick six – $2 minimum, 70 percent to perfect tickets or carryover, 30 percent to consolations, and no single-ticket jackpot.
Two legs of the Friday sequence go through trainer Leonard Powell, whose 28.1 percent win rate for Los Alamitos daytime races is third-highest among active Southern California trainers. Powell is 18 for 64 at Los Alamitos.
“Los Alamitos is sometimes a bit of an easier circuit,” Powell said. “When you have horses that are not quite good enough for Santa Anita, there are opportunities at Los Alamitos. I’m trying to make the most of them.”
Powell starts key contenders Friday – Trouville in race 6, Signofthecross in race 7. Both ran well last out at Santa Anita; both have won at Los Alamitos.
Trouville may go favored in race 6, a 5 1/2-furlong starter allowance for fillies and mares, nonwinners of two. Trouville is the only late-runner in a field loaded with speed. Her fourth last out in a turf sprint was better than her finish position.
“Last time, she was very unlucky,” Powell noted. “She shied from another rival at the rail, then made a middle move and lost a bit of punch because she was intimidated. She should be ‘live’ in there.”
Powell was not exaggerating. Trouville checked sharply on the turn, lost momentum, and sputtered late. A maiden-claiming winner at Los Alamitos in June 2020, Trouville benefits by a rider switch to Juan Hernandez and a jammed pace scenario. All six rivals are front-runners and pressers, including runaway maiden winners V Bucks and Til I Found You.
The challenge facing Trouville is to overcome opening-week speed-friendly track profile in sprints – 14 of 20 won by runners positioned first or second after the first quarter-mile. Over the long term, the Los Alamitos surface tends to play fair.
Signofthecross will be among the favorites in race 7, a California-bred allowance mile in which his main rival is sharp Northern California shipper U. S. Danger. Signofthecross finished second last out at the same level, some nine lengths clear of third. It was his first start in four months and first under Trevor McCarthy.
“Last time was a good run, Trevor got to know him, and I think that combination should be good Friday,” Powell said. Signofthecross “is a grinder, stamina is his asset.”
Signofthecross has gone a route six times on fast tracks, producing three wins and three seconds, and gets a beneficial pace scenario. Stretch-out sprinters I’ll Stand Taller and Lovesick Blues increase the chance of a lively pace, complicating matters for U. S. Danger.
U. S. Danger set easy fractions winning a starter-allowance turf route last out at Golden Gate. His chance Friday depends on how he settles behind the stretch-out sprinters. If the pace gets hot, turf-to-dirt closers Table for Ten and George Herman Ruth merit longshot consideration. Closers won 4 of 6 routes opening week.
Even if Powell trainees Trouville and Signofthecross deliver at relatively low odds, the pick six is still tough. The remaining legs are a bit more complicated.
The races sequence begins and ends with a $20,000 maiden-claiming route for fillies and mares split in two divisions. Handicappers may need to reevaluate a natural prejudice against “career maidens” for one simple reason – they win regularly at Los Alamitos.
Day racing at Los Alamitos began in 2014, and during early-summer race meets, most maiden-20 filly-mare route winners previously were habitual losers – nine of 11 winners were making their sixth start or more. Four had previously lost 10 races or more.
The historical success of career maidens at the filly-mare maiden-claiming route level is reason Moreavino (11 starts) and Avisse (10) are contenders in race 3. Their marginal ability might be enough to upset lightly raced Class Code, a vet scratch when last entered.
:: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures
In race 8, closer Medusa’s Gaze (10 starts) enters off a runner-up finish at Santa Anita. Her rivals include dropper So Very Smart and stretch-out dropper Consider Me Gone.
In race 4, juvenile maiden fillies bred in California run five furlongs. First-time starter Connie Swingle faces two-time runner-up Drizella, debut third Sally Stanford, and bred-to-win early What a Way to Go.
In race 5, older maidens race a mile, including A. P. Pharoah and second-time gelding Istanbul. The upset candidate is second-time starter Sirocco, whose trainer has the highest career win percentage (20 starts or more) for daytime races at Los Alamitos. Simon Callaghan’s win rate is 32.2 percent, 20 for 62.