Belmont: Closer Looks for June 13, 2014
DRF Plus closer looks for Belmont on Friday, June 13.
DRF StaffJun 12, 2014
DRF Plus closer looks for Belmont on Friday, June 13.
When The Lost Tigress ($5.80) made her debut Nov. 1 at Aqueduct, she was highly regarded as she was sent off the 2-1 second choice. The race, however, was disaster as she was never in the hunt, finishing seventh of nine, beaten a city block (26 3/4 lengths). She hadn’t been seen since, but when trainer Charlton Baker returned the 3-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes in the day’s opener, he did so with a couple significant changes.
Three scratches in the opener – #2 Why Pretend, #3 D’Wildcard, and #6 Hey Cuz – have reduced an originally scheduled six-horse field to three. This has become a recurring theme at this meet, particularly in low-end claimers like the first, a $7,500 claiming race, where vet scratches are more common. A similar race earlier in the meet was scratched down to two runners, making it an unplanned match race.
Rider Joel Rosario probably hasn’t come down from his high last Saturday when he won the Grade 1 Belmont aboard Tonalist and the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps aboard Cross Hatches, and while he won’t reach such a pinnacle on this card, he’s still lined up with a number of contenders.
Santa Anita has a new voice Thursday. While announcer Trevor Denman takes a break through June 27, the colorful Frank Mirahmadi will man the microphone. Mirahmadi is the full-time announcer at Oaklawn Park in the spring and calls action at the Northern California fairs in the summer.
The spotlight Sunday at Santa Anita was on three races for California-breds – a stakes, an allowance, and a maiden sprint. In all three, key contenders fell short. The handicapping lesson: Be careful who you trust.
DRF Plus handicapping analysis for Churchill on Thursday, June 12.
DRF Plus handicapping analysis for Santa Anita on Thursday, June 12.
DRF Plus handicapping analysis for Belmont on Thursday, June 12.
DRF Plus closer looks for Santa Anita on Thursday, June 12.