Free: How I'd play Santa Anita for Monday, May 25
DRF handicapper Brad Free provides his best plays on Monday's Memorial Day program at Santa Anita.
Brad FreeMay 24, 2015
DRF handicapper Brad Free provides his best plays on Monday's Memorial Day program at Santa Anita.
Mubtaahij, the UAE Derby winner, worked five furlongs on grass here at Belmont Park on Sunday, a half-mile over the main track on Wednesday, and another five furlongs on dirt this morning after open galloping more than a mile Saturday.
Lady Eli, winner of last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, breezed five furlongs in 1:01.16 in company with Testa Rossi. Though both fillies were given the same time, Lady Eli did it much more comfortably and in hand than her stablemate. Lady Eli is pointing to next Sunday’s $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes at Belmont Park, a prep for the $1 million Belmont Oaks on July 4.
Al Kazeem won the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup on Sunday at The Curragh in Ireland, his second victory in the race, and his first Group 1 tally since being returned to training after a brief and unsuccessful career as a stallion during the winter of 2013- 2014.
For the third time in eight days, Belmont Stakes candidate Mubtaahij put in a timed workout, this time going five furlongs in 1:01.83, according to Daily Racing Form, in company with stablemate Umgiyo over the Belmont main track.
Racing under entirely different conditions, the emergent 5-year-old gelding Solow did the same thing Sunday at Longchamp he had in March at Meydan, galloping to an impressive Group 1 victory.
Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey had an air of confidence about him Sunday morning when talking about Honor Code, several hours after watching his handicap star breeze five furlongs in 1:00.13 with jockey Javier Castellano aboard.
Options are limited by field size through the early portion of the program, as we go 6 x 5 x 5 x 5 through the first four races Sunday, including a potential $5 exacta of ROOM FOR ME (1) over LA MADRINA (3) in race 3.
INVENTOR'S GATE (#1) has a decent late kick, but he also has some tactical speed and an inside post, and that should be an edge in this paceless route. ICE CREAM TRUCK (#10) is another who could benefit from the expected race flow (2).
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