Big fields make mandatory-payout pick six a challenge on final day of meet

The $1 pick six will be fully distributed at the Sonoma county fair in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Sunday, the final day of the track’s nine-day meeting.

Finding the winning combination among five races on dirt and one on turf will be challenging.

The bet covers the third through eighth races on a program that begins at 1:45 p.m. Pacific. For a circuit that often struggles with field sizes, Sunday’s program is an exception. All the pick six races have at least eight entrants.

There are also mandatory payouts in the 50-cent late pick five, which begins in the fourth race, and the 50-cent super high five on the last race.

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Finding a single selection among the pick six races is more difficult.

The third race is an $8,000 claimer for maiden fillies and mares at 5 1/2 furlongs. C Her Beauty, third in a similar race in her Northern California debut at Sacramento on July 13, will be favored and is expected to be prominent early from an inside post. Zippidy Du Dad, second at Santa Rosa on Aug. 3, has shown improvement this year, and can be a threat in the stretch.

Rich Gold, part of a field of eight in a conditional $12,500 claimer at a mile, is a potential single in the fourth race. Trained by Isidro Tamayo, Rich Gold has been second in his last four starts and should have an early target in Its Thievery who starts from the inside.

Tamayo has been busy at Santa Rosa recently. From Aug. 9 through last Sunday, he won with five of 21 runners. He has runners in five of the eight races on Sunday.

The fifth race, an allowance race for 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs, is more open. Kristin Lee, a three-time winner this year, will attract support despite wide trips that led to losses in her last two races. Lusma, third in a turf sprint at Santa Rosa on Aug. 9 against older fillies and mares, will benefit by a return to an age-specific race. They both must catch Broadway Tiger.

Juliet’s Kitchen and Tiger Queen will be the primary selections on many tickets in the sixth race, a starter allowance at five furlongs on turf. Tiger Queen, winner of her last four starts, will be part of the pace, while Juliet’s Kitchen has massive appeal as a closer.

Wrong Direction is expected to be a short-priced favorite in the seventh race, a $5,000 claimer for non-winners of three at a mile. Wrong Direction, trained by Francisco Rodriguez, won a $16,000 claimer for 3-year-olds at a mile at Sacramento on July 28 in his first start since being claimed for $8,000 at Golden Gate Fields on June 7.

A $285,000 purchase as a yearling at Keeneland in 2022, Wrong Direction will be near the front. He starts from an inside post in a field of eight that includes Ruler of Angels, a good second in an $8,000 claimer for non-winners of three at Santa Rosa on Aug. 4.

The final race is not easy to decipher, a $12,500 claimer for maiden California-bred 2-year-old fillies at 5 1/2 furlongs. Arguments can be made on behalf of experienced runners such as A Clear Behest, Beachley, and Surf Star as well as the first-time starter Jager Angel.

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