King: Los Alamitos late pick four play for Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018

Keyed by a single in the Grade 1 Starlet, where Vibrance appears solid after a third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, what follows is an analysis of Saturday’s late pick four at Los Alamitos and a $64 ticket.

Race 6
The sequence gets started with a starter allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs, a race in which little talent separates the leading prospects. My view is to go four deep, using, in order of preference, Gemini Journey (1), Herunbridledpower (6), Christy Jackson (3), and Lucky Student (5).

Gemini Journey, on the board in seven straight races dating back to May 3, rates on top from a consistency perspective, while Herunbridledpower is attractive as a prior starter winner and a mare with an affinity for racing at Los Al.

Race 7
Time to take a stand by singling Vibrance (1) in the Grade 1 Starlet. She caught the eye with a third-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, managing that competitive performance despite breaking a couple lengths slowly and racing in a somewhat intimidating position for a 2-year-old, down on the inside throughout. That effort in the toughest 2-year-old filly race of the year points to her having a class advantage.

Race 8
An overflow allowance field follows the Starlet, and as with the opener, the race appears highly competitive. A slight nod goes to Mercer Island (5), a winner of 4 of 8 races this year, all in claimers, though this race presents a more demanding test. His last start against allowance company resulted in a fourth at Los Al back in September.

Others that warrant gimmicks play include King Abner (4), a last-out allowance winner at Del Mar vs. California-bred opposition; Kylemore (9), first and third in two starts since being claimed this summer and moved from turf to dirt; and comebacking Dia de Pago (2), who was graded placed last year at 2.

Race 9
The pick four concludes with a maiden $20,000 claimer going a mile, a low-confidence race where my inclination is to use four horses: Sterling’s Temple (9), Bitter Ring Home (4), Bartlett Hall (6), and Spend It (10).

Sterling’s Temple, making his first start for new connections after being claimed, disappointed most recently by running ninth, but did at least flash improved speed to be sitting third a quarter-mile into the race. He has been freshened by a barn that has winning numbers with first-after-claim runners, and was good enough to finish second once over the summer at Del Mar.

As for the others, they have all managed to hit the board in prior attempts at this class level and could take home the top prize if Sterling’s Temple does not return to peak form.

The Tickets: A $1 late pick four using the horses noted above – 1,3,5,6 with 1 with 2,4,5,9 with 4,6,9,10 – costs $64.