Bernier: Price horses to consider in Santa Anita's Rainbow 6 on Saturday

There are two graded stakes races at Santa Anita on Saturday, but all eyes are on the mandatory Rainbow 6 payout, a sequence that starts with race 5. Earlier this week, I made a video going over a DRF TicketMaker play, so I won’t break down each race here; instead, I’ll highlight a few interesting price horses to add value to your tickets should they hit. Keep in mind, the weather in Arcadia, Calif., looks awful, and we’re virtually guaranteed to be looking at sloppy-sealed conditions.

RACE 5

OMAHA BEACH (5) is going to be the favorite, but I’m very skeptical of him at this point; he’s lost a few races that he had no business losing, and at a short price, I don’t want to be leaning on him. An interesting alternative at a price is MOONOVERTHEBAYOU (7) for Bob Hess Jr. and Kent Desormeaux. Moonoverthebayou dropped to the maiden-claiming ranks in his most recent start, where he nearly got up in the shadow of the wire to graduate. That effort resulted in a Beyer Speed Figure of 76 and a raw TimeformUS rating of 91, numbers that make him competitive in this maiden special at a square number.

RACE 7

TOBY TIME (5) makes his second lifetime start for trainer Chuck Treece, and the drop from the Cal-bred maiden special ranks to the $30,000 maiden-claiming level should help his cause. Blinkers go on, and Martin Pedroza retains the mount; with a sharper break, I’d anticipate him being forwardly placed this afternoon.

RACE 8

A group of solid maiden special weights line up in the eighth, and the outside runner YOUNG PHILLIP (9) interests me. A first-time starter for Phil D’Amato, this son of Gemologist has been working steadily since the middle of November, so fitness shouldn’t be an issue debuting at 6 1/2 furlongs. Speaking of Gemologist, his offspring have done quite well over off tracks, scoring at a 17 percent rate over the past five years, with his 3-year-olds striking at an impressive 22 percent.

RACE 10

The day wraps up with N2L runners, and in a field littered with runners who don’t seem to enjoy winning races, I’d like to take shot with a horse who hasn’t been completely exposed yet. DAS BEAR (4) has been away for some time, but he won his maiden last May in solid fashion at Emerald Downs and now returns at Santa Anita at this level; if he breaks alertly and takes to the off going, he’s dangerous at a nice number.