Bernier: How I'd play Del Mar on Saturday, July 26

Race 2

There is one horse in particular in this six-furlong sprint whom I’ve been against throughout his young career, and today is no different. That horse is Cherubim. This son of Henny Hughes is wickedly fast, but he’s yet to show that he can finish the deal against winners and continues to burn money.

I’ll be looking to take a shot against him with Melatonin. Many times you’ll see a horse who takes a few starts to break his maiden come right back and repeat, and I’m hoping that’s what happens here. The two horses who ran second and third in his maiden score last out returned to break their maidens at Aqueduct and Santa Anita.

Race 3

Whenever the jockey/trainer combination of Agapito Delgadillo and Victor Garcia teams up at Del Mar, one must take notice. They’ll be sending out Olympic Lady in the third race Saturday, and I’ll look to key her in exactas.

The two other horses I’ll look to use in my exacta plays are Appealing Lady and Tatum’s Gold. Appealing Lady is a first-time starter for John Sadler, who has been working nicely, and her latest gate drill is encouraging. Tatum’s Gold never changed leads until deep stretch in her debut at Los Alamitos this month; I’m expecting her to take a step forward after that educational effort.

Races 6 & 7

There is a set of second-time starters in the sixth race whom I’m fond of, and I’ll link them up with a few runners in the seventh race to play some daily doubles.

In the sixth, Texas Red makes his second career start after a nice debut over the Polytrack at Arlington Park. He raced greenly down the lane that day, and any sort of maturation makes him a live runner here. Homer Matt is the most likely winner, as he debuted in a stakes event at Santa Anita last month and performed admirably. He’s going to take a fair amount of money, and rightfully so – he looks tough here. Red Button was well behind early in his debut at Santa Anita last month before running on intently late, highlighted by a monstrous gallop-out. If he can stay in touch with the field early, he’ll have a say in the outcome.

In the seventh, Big Cazanova possesses the two best Beyer Speed Figures in the past two races, and although they were achieved on dirt, he must be respected. This appears to be an odd spot for Thundergram to be tackling older horses for the first time in his career, but trainer Mark Casse has saddled nothing but live mounts here at this meet. Toledo Eddie has been a hard hitter throughout his career and possesses the best early foot in the field. If anyone is going to wire this group, it’s him. R S Watson has run exceptionally over the Polytrack at Del Mar, and if he fires his “A” game, he could be tough to handle.

Race 8

Frac Daddy is a different horse once he steps foot on a synthetic surface. Never much on dirt or turf, this son of Scat Daddy has earned triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures in two of his four career starts on synthetic surfaces, and his career record on the all-weather track is 4-3-1-0.

The ride this horse received last out was a bit suspect, and I believe the 10-furlong distance might have been a bit long for him. Today, he’ll cut back to 1 1/16 miles and get the services of rider Joe Talamo. Frac Daddy is worth a win wager at odds of 3-1 or greater.