Free: Turf course profile may soon change

May 16 preview

It is still warm in Southern California, although not triple-digit hot. Santa Anita canceled racing Thursday due to extreme heat. Temperatures are expected to drop Friday into the 90s. Twilight racing resumes Friday at Santa Anita, with first post at 3 p.m. Pacific.

It was a dry winter, and the fast turf course this spring has been a topic of discussion among track officials. Concerns include the speed-friendly profile, and final times that have been excessively fast.

Reports are the entire turf oval has been aerated with new equipment. Handicappers must pay attention. Any change in maintenance procedures can lead to a change in surface nuances. There is a chance the course could be slower, and less biased. Stay tuned.

Baby race preview

Race 1 brings out California-bred 2-year-olds, and wouldn’t you know it? Doug O’Neill has another “live” one in Smooven Square. O’Neill already has won two of the four baby races this meet.

Smooven Square, by 15-percent debut sire Square Eddie, has trained well. According to the clocker for National Turf, the colt’s works include a three-horse team drill April 28 in which Smooven Square finished behind well-regarded Sky Preacher but in front of subsequent debut winner Henry’s Holiday.

That is good company, for sure. Smooven Square is 5-2.

Sir Awesome is the 3-1 second choice, though trainer Gary Sherlock warned, “I don’t know if 4 ½ [furlongs] will suit him.” Hot-riding jockey Tyler Baze reportedly had his choice of at least three entrants, and took Sir Awesome. That is a good sign.

Meanwhile, the “buzz horse” is Kristi’s Copilot. Art Sherman trains Kristi’s Copilot, a 2-year-old son of Lucky Pulpit whose half-mile gate work May 3 at Los Alamitos was in a quick 46.40 seconds. Aaron Gryder rides the colt, who is “live” first out.

What does Sherman know about training a California-bred colt sired by Lucky Pulpit? He knows quite a bit. California Chrome is the early favorite to win his sixth straight race on Saturday at Pimlico.

Good comebacker

Stakes winner Holy Lute is doing something he never did before. That is, make breathing noises while training. Holy Lute was sick after the Malibu Stakes, and trainer Jim Cassidy stopped on him. “His lungs were filled with [stuff],” Cassidy said.

Holy Lute recovered, but he is making noise. “Structurally, he’s fine,” Cassidy said. You’d have to give Holy Lute a big look first start back. His works are solid, he won the El Cajon Stakes last summer (over Fury Kapcori), and he fired a 93 Beyer winning a maiden sprint last summer.

His rivals are the one-two selections by this handicapper. Both are speed horses Declassify is the fastest, with triple-digit Beyer Figures his first two starts. He returns in this second-level allowance for his first start since October. The “now” horse is Seeking the Sherif, front-running winner last out in with a 99 Beyer.

Turf speed

Looking for a pace play at a price? Race 4 entrant Among the Stars is not good enough based on class or figures (71 Beyer), but she could have a pace advantage in the one-mile turf race for female $40,000 claimers.

Speed has been good lately in mile turf races, and Among the Stars could be loose at 8-1. Her maiden-40 starter win last out on dirt was deceptively good; she never looked like losing. Unless there has been some sort of shift in the turf profile, Among the Stars is an interesting longshot indeed.

The flaw in the above analysis is that the turf profile might have changed following aeration procedures.

Cal-bred feature

Bobo (No. 1) is likely to scratch from race 7. That pushes favorite Boozer down to the rail in the turf sprint for California-bred allowance runners. In downhill sprints at Santa Anita, the outside posts are beneficial; the inside not so much.

It might not matter. Boozer is the fastest in the field, runner-up last time out at this class level. Edwin Maldonado is not riding Boozer after winning on him two starts back and riding him to a second-place finish last out.

The reason for Maldonado switching to race-7 starter Luz Atticus is friction between the agent for Maldonado, Vic Lipton, and the trainer of Boozer, Mark Glatt.

Joe Talamo is the new rider for Boozer, who is the 5-2 favorite. He looks tough to beat.

Spot plays

Race 4

Among the Stars (#1, 8-1) is the speed of the field, moving up sharply in class and trying turf for the first time. It is lots to overcome, but her tactical edge could be all she needs to spring a front-running upset.

Race 5

Not a Love Song (#6, 9-5) has more speed than his main rival Ryderoo in this $50,000 maiden-claimer. Down slightly in class, he should be gone at low odds.