Bernier: How I'll play Del Mar for Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017

The featured event at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Saturday is the Grade 2 Best Pal for 2-year-old males, and I happen to like Fleetwood at a bit of a price. I’ll look to play a daily double into him, and if for some reason I can’t get out of the first leg of the double, I can always just play him to win

RACE 8

CARIBOU CLUB (3) ran very well in the Oceanside on Opening Day, finishing third. He projects to be forwardly placed throughout for Tom Proctor and Drayden Van Dyke, and a repeat of that effort likely puts him in the winners’ circle. I’ll also use RITZY A. P. (6) for Dan Blacker. I’ve been chasing Ritzy A. P. for quite some time, and I’m not about to stop now. This colt has shown enough promise to make me think he can win some races, and if he gets a setup he should be running on late.

RACE 9 – BEST PAL
While SERENGETI (5) and RUN AWAY (1) are the two most likely winners in the race, I’m intrigued by the Keith Desormeaux's entrant FLEETWOOD (6). Desormeaux rarely has runners ready to go at first asking, but this son of Munnings ran very well in his career debut. Breaking from the inside and running in among horses isn’t the easiest thing for first-time starters, so Fleetwood likely earned quite the education in his debut. If he takes a step forward, he won’t be that far behind the top two in this race.