Meeting ends with mandatory pick-six payout
ARCADIA, Calif. – A day after the Breeders’ Cup gala concludes Saturday at Keeneland, the wagering festivities continue at Santa Anita.
Sunday is closing day of the Santa Anita fall meet, and there is a mandatory payout in the 20-cent pick six. Barring a single-ticket winner Friday or Saturday, the jackpot is likely to top $400,000 and officials estimate $3 million in new money into the Sunday pick six.
The races 5-10 sequence is sprinkled with land mines. Races 5-7 comprise a turf-sprint scramble for Cal-bred maidens, a bottom-level claiming route with dubious droppers, and a maiden-claiming turf sprint in which a key starter is compromised by her rail draw.
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Pick-six bettors face additional challenges in races 8-10, including a top contender who got sick and missed his last start, and a front-runner facing an anti-speed course profile. The sequence ends with a deep field of Cal-bred allowance sprinters.
Earlier, in race 4, trainer John Sadler will start a Pacific Classic winner. No, not that one. A year before Flightline dazzled, Tripoli upset the 2021 Pacific Classic. His career stalled thereafter, with extenuating circumstances.
Tripoli underwent arthroscopic surgery after finishing seventh in the BC Classic. He ran well in his comeback prep, then misfired in a Grade 2 and came out of the race sick. He subsequently scratched from a turf stakes, then finished fifth next out in a Grade 1 at Santa Anita. He trained fast since.
Tripoli faces Grade 3 winner Azul Coast in the allowance. Both horses could use the dirt mile as a prep for the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes on Nov. 27 at Del Mar. The other entrants are front-runner Newgrange, Impossible Task, and Figureti.
The wagering action intensifies in race 5, opening leg of the pick six. Here is a look at the sequence.
Race 5 is the aforementioned six-furlong turf sprint for Cal-bred 2-year-old maidens, and Sadler once again is in the middle of the conversation. His second-time starters may hold an edge. Moon Ice finished last in his debut, but it was a main-track stakes on dirt. He is bred for turf.
Workday, the second Sadler entrant, raced greenly and finished third in a promising debut in July. Sunday is his first start since. The 12-runner field is filled with apparently live debut runners, including Devil Among Us, Catalina Eddy, and Buck Owens. Pick six bettors may need to spread.
Race 6 is a $10,000 claiming route in which Loud Loud Music is the one to beat despite a curious drop following a third in a $25,000 claiming turf mile. Others include reasonable dropper Hot On the Trail and up-in-class Northern California shipper Remember Sue.
Race 7 is a $50,000 maiden-claiming turf sprint at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main turf oval. Too Bossy is speed, dropping from special-weight to maiden-claiming. Dear Beau and Jerusalema will rally, while the horse to beat is stuck on the rail.
Katerini finished second last out at six furlongs, and trainer Mark Glatt believes she can stay six and a half. However, the trainer said the inside post “is a particularly tough spot for her.”
“I can’t see sending her hard from the rail with the speed that’s to the outside,” Glatt said. “We’re probably going to have to sit chilly and just hope she works out a decent trip.”
Race 8 is Glatt again, with promising 3-year-old colt Hero Status in an entry-level allowance at a mile on dirt. Hero Status scored a decisive maiden victory Sept. 2 with a 90 Beyer that matches the allowance par, but he subsequently was scratched Oct. 9.
“His white count was a bit elevated, and I didn’t think he was 100 percent right, so we had to scratch him,” Glatt said. “He snapped out of it fairly quickly. It didn’t amount to much.”
The main challenge, Glatt believes, is the class hike.
“First-time winners is probably the biggest jump in racing,” he said.
Rivals for Hero Status include last-out wide-tripper Street Ruckus and late-runner Lord Dragon.
Race 9 is a downhill allowance turf sprint in which Lane Way is the class of the field based on successive runner-up finishes in graded stakes. He was pre-entered in the BC Turf Sprint, but did not make the cut. Lane Way could go favored Sunday in a race leading to a new turf-sprint stakes at Del Mar – the $100,000 Stormy Liberal on Dec. 3.
The pace scenario benefits last-out runner-up Turn On The Jets, who should be on or near the lead. However, none of the first 12 downhill turf sprints this fall was won by a pacesetter. Perhaps it will happen in the final downhill sprint of the meet. Pick-six bettors probably can survive using only front-runner Turn On The Jets and closer Lane Way.
Race 10 front-runner In Vronsky Style could be long gone in the Cal-bred allowance turf sprint. He finished second last out on the hill, and shortens Sunday to six furlongs on the main turf oval.
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