Bernier: How I'll play Santa Anita on Sunday, March 3, 2019

More wet weather in the forecast makes plotting out wagers ahead of Sunday’s card at Santa Anita more difficult than it already would be. Because of the potential for more precipitation, I’ll be avoiding the turf races entirely for this exercise; below are a few runners to consider Sunday scheduled to run on the main track.

RACE 1

OH MAN (8) has had issues going two turns in the past (3-0-1-0 lifetime at one mile), but he appears to be the controlling speed in this N3L heat to begin the day. A winner most recently at seven furlongs, Oh Man will need to be used early in order to either clear or establish solid early position without giving up too much ground, given that he’ll be breaking from the far outside and there’s a short run into the first turn in one-mile races at Santa Anita.

RACE 5 – TIZNOW

It seems trainer Phil D’Amato has figured out KING ABNER (1), and there’s a real chance King Abner could find himself in the winner’s circle following Sunday’s featured event. A son of Hansen, this 5-year-old gelding is 2 for 2 going two turns on the main track, and his recent form going long on grass isn’t anything to sneeze at either. The pace scenario could be interesting, as SURFING STAR (3) possesses good early speed and EDWARDS GOING LEFT (4) shouldn’t be too far behind; I’m hopeful Tyler Baze is aggressive aboard King Abner and sends him to the front immediately. If he’s leading the field into the far turn, I like his chances.

RACE 7

DISTINCTIVE B (8) is unlikely to offer a tremendous price, but there’s a solid chance he offers decent value considering Bob Baffert sends out HECK YEAH (5) and Richard Baltas saddles the newly gelded COIL ME HOME (7). Trained by Peter Miller, Distinctive B is a blue-collar type who shows up each time and gives it his all. It’s heartening to see his most recent win came over a sloppy/sealed surface, and the last time he ran at this N1X level was over the summer at Del Mar; he emerged victorious.