Free: How I'll play Del Mar for Saturday, Nov. 19

Seven weeks ago at Santa Anita, a 2-year-old making his second start unleashed a huge move on the far turn before losing his punch and finishing fifth.

It seemed like an eternity waiting for Swinging Star to run back. Saturday at Del Mar, he finally returns in race 4, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old maidens.

Swinging Star made the Daily Racing Form “Horses to Watch” list with this comment: “Stretching out from a single sprint, this maiden 2-year-old uncorked a big, wide move on the far turn of a turf route before losing his punch. This was a better-than-it-looked second start.”

By coincidence, two other Horses to Watch entered the same race on Saturday that Swinging Star entered – program favorite Avalanche and also-eligible Cedar Rapids.

The Horses to Watch comment for Avalanche, runner-up Oct. 22: “This 2-year-old first-time starter ran well in a turf sprint. Not quick, briefly waited behind runners on the bend, cut the corner, and finished with run. Mizzen Mast gray has the look of a promising turf colt.”

The Horses to Watch comment for Cedar Rapids, seventh-place finisher Oct. 1: “Favored to win a maiden turf route second time out, this colt ran into a roadblock into the lane, steadied behind a wall of horses, and was eliminated. Call it inconclusive.”

With three Horses to Watch in the same race Saturday – Swinging Star, Avalanche, and Cedar Rapids – perhaps a bettor could surrender and wager on all three? That won’t work in this situation. The odds are too short.

Besides, while all three maidens are conspicuous, perhaps one is more attractive than the others.

The challenge facing Avalanche is stretching out from one sprint. In Southern California, that is recipe for an underlay. Second-start maidens occasionally win route races, but the preferred pattern is a route that follows two sprints. As the 5-2 favorite, Avalanche offers minimal value.

Cedar Rapids will be stuck on the far outside Saturday, if he does draw in from the “AE list.” Troubled in both starts, he is 3-1 second favorite. At that price, he is easy to pass.

Swinging Star ran super in his initial route. After uncorking the wide move on the far turn, he could have surrendered and finished nowhere. But he did not quit. He finished fifth, by less than four lengths.

Second time long, listed at 4-1 but likely to start closer to 3-1, Swinging Star is the play of the day Saturday at Del Mar.