Peck: Santa Anita pick five for Breeders' Cup Friday

The lone pick five of the day on Breeders' Cup Friday starts in race 1, perhaps the most wide-open race of the sequence. The enclosed TicketMaker play is for $74, but I will play the "A" ticket twice for a total bet of $86.

RACE 1: AIN'T MISBEHAVIN closed well in his last start and now turns back in distance. FOREST BLUE has some of the best recent dirt Beyer Speed Figures in the field. DISTINCTIVE B was a game winner when last seen. WESTBROOK has steady figures and now adds blinkers. TOUGH IT OUT, a beaten favorite in his latest, can improve today given a better pace scenario. ARLINGTON HOUSE was sharp in victory in each of his last two despite running against the race flow.
A's: 10, 12
B's: 3, 4, 8, 9
C's: NONE

RACE 2: WATCH THIS CAT is easy to like off that last score. LONGSTOCKING is wide, but she has to be respected off the turf-sprint efforts she's turned in thus far.
A's: 3
B's: 12
C's: NONE

RACE 3: SCUBA is the likely pacesetter from the rail. QUICK CASABLANCA was game in defeat in his last try on the main track. MELMICH is consistent and in very good form, a must-use. SAMMY MANDEVILLE could benefit from a lively pace of any kind.
A's: 2, 4
B's: 1, 6
C's: NONE

RACE 4: JAZZY TIMES comes out of a much tougher race. SILENT BIRD merits respect off that last figure, the best of his short career. CAUTIOUS GIANT ran against Lord Nelson in his last pair. PROSPECT PARK is questionable at the distance and off the layoff, but he is one to consider given his Beyers. NAVY HYMN was against the flow in his latest but won six of his last seven prior to that.
A's: 3, 5, 9
B's: 6, 8
C's: NONE

RACE 5: ISA FIRECRACKER was only a half-length short of catching VAI in their last meeting, and that filly is the one to beat here. MY PI ROMANCER would be the main beneficiary if a quick, contested pace were to develop in this one.
A's: 4, 8
B's: 9
C's: NONE