Bernier: How I'd play Santa Anita on Saturday, May 14
Saturday’s card at Santa Anita features two stakes races – the $75,000 Singletary for 3-year-olds on turf and the Grade 3 Laz Barrera for 3-year-olds on the main track. I’ll construct my wagers focusing on these events.
RACE 3 – SINGLETARY
ARCATURE (2) looks to be a legitimate favorite in the one-mile Singletary, but he’s unlikely to offer appealing odds from a win standpoint. Accordingly, I’ll look to key him on top in a straight exacta with a horse who figures to be one of the longer shots on the board. MR. ROARY (3) ran deceptively well two starts back in the Pasadena, a race in which he was slammed hard from both sides when exiting the starting gate. Despite being 0 for 6 lifetime, this George Papaprodromou trainee figures to be forwardly placed throughout and has every right to hit the board in this short field. I’ll play a straight exacta of Arcature over Mr. Roary, depending on probable payoffs.
RACE 5 – MAIDEN CLAIMER
If VOLUME (4) can still run, he’s far and away the most likely winner of Saturday’s fifth, but there’s no guarantee he can still run. A Claiborne homebred, this Richard Mandella trainee hasn’t been seen since last June. From a Beyer Speed Figure standpoint, he’s a standout in the field – all three of his dirt Beyers are better than any other horse’s best dirt figure. Should he not be the same horse he was when we last saw him, I’ll also use BIG DISCOVERY (9) for Alfredo Marquez in doubles. Big Discovery is a prime example of a horse with dirtied up form – his dirt races are markedly better than his turf tries, and though he’s 0 for 12 lifetime, he does fit among these.
RACE 6 – LAZ BARRERA
MRAZEK (3) needs to prove that he has the ability to pass runners – if he does, he’ll be tough in the Laz Barrera in his second start off the layoff. His return effort at Los Alamitos was an educational one, and the horse who defeated him that day is bound for a stakes event on the Preakness undercard next Saturday. With the solid amount of early foot signed on, it will be up to Mario Gutierrez to get this son of Square Eddie to rate behind runners and ultimately run by them. I’ll look to key him in the second leg of daily-double wagers.
THE PLAYS:
R3: EXACTA
2) Arcature over 3) Mr. Roary if it pays at least $26.
R5-R6: DOUBLE
4) Volume into 3) Mrazek if it pays at least $34.
9) Big Discovery into 3) Mrazek if it pays at least $66.