Hammersly: How I'd play Del Mar on Saturday, Nov. 15

The difficult aspect to this card is there doesn’t appear to be a linchpin to serve as a foundation for your multi-race wagers. So it may be a case of taking the day as it comes and taking what the card gives you early, which can help bankroll your plays later on the card.

It looks like put-up-or-shut-up time for FASCINATING in the day’s opener. The $1.3 million daughter of Smart Strike was good enough to be two-time Grade 1 placed at 2 as a maiden. But then came more than a year on the bench before she returned to be fourth as the 1-2 favorite Oct. 10 at Santa Anita. It’s nice, however, that she has that run under her belt, there’s no layoff since, no panicky drop by trainer Bob Baffert, and she returns to a track over which she’s done well. She’s worked smartly since her last run and gets blinkers.

Doubles-wise in race 2 SMOOVE IT looks like the right horse to couple with Fascinating. She was a smart second on turf with blinkers on for the first time at this level Oct. 26 at Santa Anita. Yes, it’s a surface switch, but you’ve seen many a horse run well on turf, then move to this track and run well, too.

Race 4 features a number of maidens who have handled turf well. Here, we may take a stand with invader DYLAN WARD. The son of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Artie Schiller ran well on turf at Woodbine, Gulfstream, and Keeneland. He makes his first start here and lures top rider Rafael Bejarano. With the big field, a $1 trifecta with him on top of five horses ($20) may pay dividends. The five to play under him could be WICKED FINANCE, YES YES YES, OPSEC, MONSIEUR POWER, and J SERINO. For a measly $20, you may get a 10-1 or so payoff. Also, Dylan Ward could prove fruitful for your pick three wagers in involving the surrounding races.

Race 6 is puzzling, as it draws maidens, including a number of first-timers, but firster LONGSTOCKING is intriguing. The 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief has been working splendidly at Santa Anita, including posting bullet works in her last two drills Nov. 2 (34.80 seconds) and Nov. 9 (46.80). She looks ready to fire first time out.

Race 7 is a brutally tough 1 1/16-mile N1X event on the turf. MAL VERDE deserves a long look, though the son of top turfer Whatsthescript comes off a smart win over Cal-bred N1X foes on the Santa Anita turf Oct. 11. That was his first try against winners, so he surely can improve. He also could be your key for a $1 trifecta, keying him on top of TOLEDO EDDIE, ISLAND FREEDOM, HUSBAND’S FOLLY, MACHO SOX, and PLAY HARD TO GET ($20).

The Grade 3 Bob Hope unveils some promising juveniles, and rail horse SEBASTIAN’S HEART figures a price. He gamely beat maidens Oct. 3 at Santa Anita and was second to potentially top-class Lord Nelson in the Speakeasy on Oct. 13 at Santa Anita. He didn’t do much here Sept. 3, but that was just his debut. He’s certainly better now than he was then, and he’s bred for synthetic.

Race 9 looks very tough, but ENDLESS CRUISE could be key not only for your multi-race wagers but on top or in the second spot in your exacta and trifecta wagers. He was only sixth June 28 at Santa Anita, but that was his first outing in almost 22 months. He showed ample talent on this track in 2011 and 2012. He drops for this, but it’s not as if they drop him through the floor, and not only does top rider Bejarano take the call, but there’s a smashing six-furlong bullet Nov. 8 at Santa Anita (1:10.80), which looks all the better when you note trainer Bill Spawr isn’t really one to hammer down on his horses in the morning. So if one of his horses works fast, it usually means said horse did it on his/her own. Another $1 trifecta key with him on top of HADFUNLASTNIGHT, FIGHTING ON, PASSING GAME, TOO FAST TO PASS, and REGALLY SOUL ($20) could be profitable.