Diamonds Dena has plenty to prove
Diamonds Dena will try to get back on track in a $10,000 claiming race for fillies and mares that will serve as Friday’s feature at Emerald Downs. The one-mile race drew eight horses and goes as race 6 on a seven-race card that begins at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.
Trained by Manual Ortiz, Diamonds Dena is hard to love off how she performed in her last start at Santa Anita on April 7. Running in an $8,000 claiming race, she had one horse beat but wasn’t too far back after four furlongs in the one-mile race for fillies and mares. However, when the real running started, she faded badly and was basically eased while finishing 27 1/4 lengths behind the winner.
Last year at Emerald, she won three times, and in her last start at the 2015 meet, she was the runner-up in a $25,000 claiming race. She raced at Turf Paradise over the winter, and her best performance in four races there was a third-place finish on turf in an $8,000 claiming race Jan. 2.
Jake Barton rides Diamonds Dena for the first time. If she regains the form she had at Emerald last summer, she will be tough to beat. That is a big if, however. And if it’s not Diamonds Dena, it’s anyone race.
KEY CONTENDERS
Diamonds Dena, by Northern Afleet
Last 3 Beyers: 21-67-57
◗ She is back at her favorite track and could move forward in her second start following a layoff.
Another Winter, by Demon Warlock
Last 3 Beyers: 48-45-50
◗ Trained by Jeff Metz, she will be the one they have to catch if she breaks alertly from her inside post. She is a winner at the distance and could take a big step forward after tiring in her first route attempt this year.
Lizzy Lass, by Outing
Last 3 Beyers: 54-30-52
◗ The 8-year-old mare has compiled an enviable 15-9-8 record from 60 starts and is coming off a runner-up finish in a similar race for trainer Roy Lumm.
Wise, by Unusual Heat
Last 3 Beyers: 54-58-45
◗ Trained by Rigoberto Velasquez, the versatile 5-year-old was coming off a three-month layoff when she finished a neck behind Lizzy Lass in her first start at Emerald and figures to move forward with a race behind her.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: Over the past five years, Velasquez has a respectable 16 percent strike rate with horses making their second start following a layoff.