Free's preview: Pick six carryover of $28,881

Friday, July 4, preview

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Independence Day on Friday at Los Alamitos begins with a pick six carryover of $28,881 on races 3-8.

The new racing surface seemed fair on Thursday, opening day. Winners early on the card were wide; later races were won with inside trips. No bias. It was a fair track with regard to running lanes. Most winners also were forwardly placed. It is dirt, after all.

Handicappers who speculated that inside posts would have an advantage in one-mile races (quick run to the turn) have a three-race sample to support the argument. I’m No Patsy ($4.20) raced three wide in the first route; two other route winners saved ground until the stretch.

The bottom line is that form held. The best horses won, including three winning favorites. Even the upset winners ($44.60 Regally Soul, $24 Soi Phet) were not impossible in hindsight.

It is time for a look at Friday.

CAL-BRED JUVENILES, race 1

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is 5 for 8 this year with 2-year-old first-time starters. On Friday, he unveils another one. Or rather, “she” unveils another.

She is Lauren Robson, Hollendorfer’s assistant at Pomona (Barretts Sales and Racing), where first-time starter Notorious has been training. Robson also owns the colt, sired by the late McCann’s Mojave. Notorious has slow works, but slow BSR works are not an issue; Caval had slow BSR works into her June 19 debut for Hollendorfer and crushed.

McSwiss is a first-timer whom Los Alamitos linemaker Russ Hudak made the 5-2 favorite. That is significant because Hudak also clocks at Los Alamitos. If he is willing to make a first-timer favored on the line, he must like what he sees. Hudak has a keen eye, and his early odds for Los Al-based first-timers provide a clue. In this case, it is a positive.

McSwiss reportedly has speed; Roper is a first-time gelding for high-percentage trainer Vann Belvoir.

PICK SIX, race 3

The first leg of the pick six is an intriguing $12,500 claiming starter allowance in which the top contenders are difficult to separate.

Gal Has to Like It scratched from a $25,000 starter Thursday; he is this handicapper’s top choice based on a recent series of sharp efforts in $16,000 to $25,000 claiming races. The knock is that he has no published workouts since his most recent start June 12.

Newfound Gold, meanwhile, worked a sharp half-mile June 28, his second quick work since being claimed by Jeff Bonde. According to DRF Formulator, Bonde is 8 for 34 first off the claim over the past five years. Newfound Gold, an $8,000 to $10,000 speedster, has hit the board in 30 of 37 starts and looks like the one to catch.

Courtside is a former stakes winner with eight wins. Trainer Michael Curtis told track publicist Mark Ratzky: “We’ve been working on getting him to relax. He’s got quite a few problems, so we’ve been testing some different methods, and he seems to be responding well. He’s put on weight, and his coat looks great.” Courtside is good.

In the first leg of the pick six, a bettor must include Gal Has to Like It, Newfound Gold, and Courtside. The other three are not impossible. Half Dome Dude, Traweek, and Muchos Besos are worth including as backups.

NEW FACE, Race 4

Looking for a 5-1 separator? Leedstobeaver makes his debut in this $20,000 maiden-claimer at 5 1/2 furlongs. The gelding reportedly has shown speed in Los Alamitos workouts.

The question is what to make of his May 26 workout at CBT? That is Canyon Breeze Training Center in Utah, where “unrecognized” races occasionally are held. Official records are not kept for those races.

Leedstobeaver posted a five-furlong workout that day at CBT. One idea is that he competed in an unrecognized race. CBT did schedule races for May 26. Though unconfirmed, it is possible that Leedstobeaver’s “workout” was actually a race. If so, he is not a true “first-time starter” on Friday at Los Alamitos.

Tyler Baze rides the gelding. He is this handicapper’s top choice at 5-1.

American Style reportedly has shown speed in workouts; first-time gelding Vite Tribal Reign has improved in his workouts since he was gelded, according to National Turf.

HIGHLY RATED, race 5

The fastest juvenile filly in America is Tulira’s Star, who earned an 88 Beyer on June 8 at Arlington. It is the highest Beyer of the year by a juvenile filly. (Fashion Alert also earned an 88). Was the synthetic-surface race by Tulira’s Star legitimate? We’ll find out.

Midnight Candy, a distant third behind Tulira’s Star, makes the second start of her career at Los Alamitos. Her debut was decent. She did not get away sharply, was not asked for speed, and raced evenly to the wire. Midnight Candy is listed at 5-2 on Friday.

This handicapper’s choice is first-time starter Ultimate Holiday, a Harlan’s Holiday filly with good works for trainer Richard Baltas. She is the 3-1 co-second favorite with the Bob Baffert-trained Starlet O’Hara.

PICK SIX SINGLE, race 7

The meet’s first race at the distance of 1 1/16 miles is the $75,000 American Flag Stakes, and Magic Mark looks like a “good thing.”

A four-time winner from six starts, he faces only one apparent pace adversary, the stretching out War Academy. Drawn outside that rival and likely to get a comfortable trip pressing or setting easy fractions, Magic Mark could be long gone as the 2-1 favorite.