Bernier: Santa Anita pick five for Saturday, March 19
Saturday’s card at Santa Anita isn’t one of the better ones we’ve ever seen, and the featured event, the Grade 1 Santa Margarita, is a race I have zero interest in playing. I’ll play a small pick five ticket on the opening five races of the card.
RACE 1
NO CONTINGENCY (6) has the ability to sit and finish, and that could be the key in this event. The additional distance should work in his favor as well. ALPINE LUCK (4) doesn’t like to win very often, but his three most recent races are all competitive enough to warrant consideration. GIANT EGO (7) has big early speed, but the concern for him is the distance – he seems best suited between five and six furlongs.
RACE 2
VELVET MESQUITE (5) is strictly the horse to beat in this stakes event. Her tactical speed will always make her dangerous, and her record going down the hill is fantastic. She’s a single for a small pick five play.
RACE 3
YAVRIG (10) debuts for a tag for Richard Baltas, and while Baltas’s numbers with these aren’t the greatest, it’s not as if this filly is debuting against monsters. SUNSHINE LAURIE (12) was solid in her debut for Kristin Mulhall, and a forward move in her second start would make her dangerous. STIR FRY (13) displayed strong early foot in her debut for Gary Stute, and it’s worth noting how far ahead of the third-place runner she finished that day. A horse with this kind of early gas is always dangerous against a field like this.
RACE 4
SECOND SUMMER (1) really appreciated getting back to a dirt surface in his most recent start, and that race Feb. 15 has already come back very strong. The winner and third-place finishers that day have both returned to win their subsequent starts, earning Beyers of 95 and 94. Another single for a small pick five play.
RACE 5
COOL GREEN (11) was his own worst enemy in his most recent start, and a more professional effort today likely gets the job done. His two turf races are simply better than anything anyone else in this field has run. COUNTRY ROAD (3) stretches out and adds Lasix for trainer Neil Drysdale, and the debut effort was solid. While he was a bit green in the hillside debut, he showed enough promise to think a move forward while stretching out is likely.
THE PLAY:
$.50 Pick 5: 4,6,7 / 5 / 10,12,13 / 1 / 3,11 = $9