Free's preview: Looking for a sure thing?

DEL MAR, Calif. – Opportunities are abundant Saturday at Del Mar, where a pick-six carryover of $106,668 is offered on races 5-10. It is time for a sneak peak at a “can’t-miss” favorite early on the card and two mid-price upset contenders in the pick six.

Race 4, Slam dunk

Everyone knows, of course, there is no such thing as a “sure thing.” However, odds-on Masochistic comes close to slam-dunk status in race 4, a first-level allowance sprint at seven furlongs.

Current form? Check. Masochistic has won two straight including a California-bred allowance in his most recent start at Del Mar.

Speed? Check. Back-to-back Beyer Figures in the mid- to upper-90s are highest in the field.

Pace? Check. Masochistic is lone speed.

Price? Here, we have a problem. Masochistic is listed at 4-5, and likely to go shorter. He appears to be a free bingo square in the pick five (races 1-5), even if main-track favorites have won only 23 percent of sprints this summer.

That statistical gibberish might not apply in this spot. Masochistic is odds-on, and will be tough to beat.

Race 6, Second-start maiden

For years in Southern California, trainer Carla Gaines has been a source of overlay winners in one particular category – second-start maidens.

The past five years, Gaines is 18 for 87 (20.6 percent) while producing a profitable return on investment of $2.26 for each $2 win bet in that category. Not bad. The trend actually goes beyond five years of Formulator. Simply bet a Gaines-trained maiden making its second career start. No handicapping required. It’s an easy game, right?

While the angle is creditable on its own, it is more effective mixed with sensible handicapping. That is the case with 2-year-old maiden Quiet Thunder, a 9-2 shot making his second start in race 6 for California-bred maidens running for a $50,000 claim tag.

Quiet Thunder trained well into his first start against statebred special-weight company. He was bet accordingly – 8-1 in a big field despite the inside post. You can guess that happened.

Quiet Thunder took a left-hand turn, was away dead last, pulled while being restrained, and never got into the hunt. But he did try to run some on the turn and into the lane. He showed a little something.

Saturday in race 6, Quiet Thunder moves from the rail to the outside. He drops slightly in class and switches to Tyler Baze. If he shows the type speed his pre-debut works suggested he had, he can upset, and add to the Gaines second-start-maiden angle.

Race 7, Class test

Prior to the Del Mar meet, trainer Phil D’Amato discussed his stable. “Big John B is the one you need to watch out for,” he said. That was in June.

Big John B was nearing his California debut after compiling an admirable record in the Midwest. A claiming-caliber veteran, he won 8 of 25 prior to his California debut in a $25,000 claiming starter on June 29 at Santa Anita. He won that race in solid fashion.

It was the next start by Big John B that was outstanding. Up in class to second-level allowance, Big John B exploded. He won by more than seven lengths, a margin rarely seen in 1 3/8-mile turf races.

Can the gelding jump from N2X to Grade 2? That is the question in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap. Based on sharp form and history of the stable, you’d have to believe he can.

D’Amato was assistant to Mike Mitchell, whose claimers-into-marathon stakes winners include Leprechaun Kid, 2005 Del Mar Cap winner first off the claim; On the Acorn, a three-time graded winner; and Tap it Light, Grade 3 Tokyo City Handicap winner first off the claim in 2010. Others were Big Booster in 2008 and Dhaamer in 2012-13.

Big John B will be tested for class in the Del Mar Handicap, which attracted an evenly matched field. None are as sharp as Big John B, who is listed at 9-2 and worth a bet at that price. Mike Smith is aboard.