Free: How I'd play Santa Anita on Sunday, Feb. 28
ARCADIA, Calif. – A daily double on races 1-2 and a win wager on race 6 is the limited action Sunday at Santa Anita. And the good news, no favorites.
Race 1
The pace scenario is soft in this route for fillies and mares, $16,000 claiming non-winners of three. That benefits front-runner/presser VEGAS BOUND, whose most-recent start at Santa Anita was a creditable third at this level. She subsequently misfired on synthetic at Golden Gate, which only helps disguise her form. On Sunday, she returns to dirt.
VEGAS BOUND can set or press the pace outside the mare drawn on the rail. VEGAS BOUND is listed at 3-1 over dubious program favorite IPRAY, whose closing style is wrong for this race. VEGAS BOUND is the daily double “key.”
Race 2
Another dubious favorite turns up in this $25,000 claiming route. FLY LEXIS FLY benefitted from a soft pace while defeating similar two back; that is not the likely scenario in this spot. Maybe he will win from behind, but at 2-1 program odds, he is a bet-against.
PRIME ISSUE has not run a good race in a year; three starts since were off-the-board finishes. However, he was claimed last out from a sprint that produced four next-out winners; trainer Peter Miller has won with nine of his last 19 starters first off the claim. PRIME ISSUE is the 5-2 second choice in the program and might be the one to catch.
Two others to include are the longshot stretch-out TIZ DYNAMIC at 8-1 and the blinkers-on-first-off-the-Jonathan Wong-claim NOBLE KENT at 7-2.
The bet
$2 double ($6 total):
Race 1: Vegas Bound (5)
Race 2: Prime Issue (1), Tiz Dynamic (2), and Noble Kent (3)
Race 6
LOS GATOS worked super into his Jan. 31 comeback, his first start in five months. But there was a problem. LOS GATOS is a turf horse; the California-bred allowance was rained off the turf and run on dirt. LOS GATOS finished fourth of eight.
On Sunday, with no rain in sight, LOS GATOS makes his second start back while returning to his preferred surface. His turf races last spring and summer are fast enough. The chances are that he has improved since.
In a big field of statebred turf runners, LOS GATOS is listed at 5-1. He is worth a play even if he ticks down to 4-1.
The bet
$4 win
Race 6: Los Gatos (7)
It’s a simple $10 plan on Sunday – $6 in doubles (races 1-2) and a $4 win bet (race 6).