Maiden Flint Stroll may have edge over winners

ARCADIA, Calif. – Based on the class factor, handicappers might hesitate to back a horse running over its head. Two are entered Friday at Santa Anita, both eligible to easier spots, yet they might be the most probable winners of their respective races.

A maiden facing winners in race 6 and a starter-allowance runner eligible to a lower condition in race 7 are among the handicapping puzzles on a quiet Friday card.

The eight-race program includes the meet’s first five-furlong race for 2-year-olds. Debut runner-up Cocktail Princess and fast-working first-time starter Ceiling Crusader meet in race 1 for statebred fillies. A starter-allowance turf sprint, race 2, offers trouble-prone Commander Khai a chance to post a mild upset over likely favorite Doncic.

The class dilemmas arrive later, beginning in the sixth, a nonwinners-of-two starter/optional $50,000 claiming race at 1 1/8 miles on turf. Spirit Makes drops from entry-level allowance races to run for the optional tag, while Flint Stroll is the aforementioned maiden. Who runs a maiden against winners? Meet-leading trainer Phil D’Amato.

The truth is, Flint Stroll’s designation as a maiden is a virtual technicality. Flint Stroll scored a decisive victory two starts ago in a $50,000 maiden-claiming race at the nine-furlong distance he runs Friday. He was disqualified for interference.

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Flint Stroll, runner-up last out in a starter-allowance turf mile, stretches Friday to the distance of his maiden “win.” Abel Cedillo rides Flint Stroll, whose ability at the distance gives him the edge over Spirit Maker. And if Flint Stroll scores his first official victory in the nonwinners-of-two starter, he retains eligibility to run back at the same condition.

Only five runners entered the seventh, as field-size struggles continue at Santa Anita. The trend is particularly evident in dirt routes – 47 of 107 main-track races this meet at a mile or longer were run with five starters or less. Nonetheless, the seventh offers an intriguing rematch between last-out winner Redline and runner-up Americaredwhiteblu.

The mile dirt race, for horses that started for a $50,000 claim tag or less, is for nonwinners of three races. Americaredwhiteblu is eligible to the nonwinners-of-two starter, though one could argue he ran better than Redline last time out.

Racing seven furlongs, Americaredwhiteblu steadied on the backstretch, waited in traffic, uncorked a middle move three wide, and missed by a half-length while finishing more than 11 lengths clear of third. Mark Glatt trains Americaredwhiteblu, whose maiden romp in a route at Oaklawn Park last spring suggests he will relish the mile distance Friday. He will be ridden again by Cedillo.

Redline and Ryan Curatolo are quick enough to make the lead if they choose. Others include Allaboutthemoney, No Hang Charlie and Will the Cobbler.