Pokerknightatvees primed for debut score

California-breds young and old compete in key races Friday at Los Alamitos as the six-day meet enters closing weekend.

Two-year-old maidens in race 2 are followed by older California-breds in a pair of allowance/optional-claiming races. Sprinters, including 9-year-old veteran Sunrise Journey, run short in race 5; two-turn fillies and mares, led by horse-for-course Professors’ Pride, go long in race 7.

Los Alamitos favorites won 12 of 24 races opening weekend, a continuation of the uptrend by dirt favorites in Southern California. Since opening day of the Santa Anita winter meet, the combined win rate of dirt favorites at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos, and Del Mar is 43 percent.

Race 2 on Friday marks the debut of Pokerknightatvees, a Doug O’Neill-trained colt by I’ll Have Another whose name refers to the “Poker Night at Mark Verge’s house” charity fundraiser. Verge is an owner, friend of O’Neill, and former CEO at Santa Anita. But can the colt run?

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“He’s probably going to need a start and he drew the dreaded rail,” O’Neill cautioned. “But he’s been working alongside some good horses, so he’s got some good experience in the mornings.”

Video of Pokerknightatvees’s team gate works Sept. 7 and 14 suggest he could win even if he does need one. O’Neill noted, “It’s a short field, and we have Edwin [Maldonado] on him, nothing wrong with that.”

Maldonado was 3 for 9 opening week, tied for the meet lead.

If Pokerknightatvees falls short, anything goes. Gozer is a two-start maiden who may have more speed than shown; front-runner Whiskyginandbrandy is a pace threat; and Mr. Machupicchu finished in the money in 4 of 6 starts.

O’Neill’s best chance Friday is race 3, a starter-allowance sprint. Redline makes his first start since O’Neill claimed him for $40,000 from a highly rated runner-up finish at Del Mar.

“He looked like he was in good form and dropping into a live spot,” O’Neill said. “He ran dynamite the day we took him and came out of it in good shape.”

Maldonado rides Redline.

Redline’s main rivals are two trained by Craig Dollase – front-runner Code Duello and late-runner Baladi.

Race 5 is a California-bred allowance/optional-claiming sprint that front-runner Sunrise Journey could win if he puts away pace rivals Disobey and Sauls Call. Sunrise Journey, a 17-for-56 pro trained by Librado Barocio, has won races on numerous different surfaces. But the pace scenario is problematic for the front-runners, and turf-to-dirt late-runner Chromeflash merits an upset chance.

Race 7 is a California-bred allowance/optional-claiming mile for fillies and mares, the same race Professors’ Pride won in July. Bob Hess Jr. trains the mare, whose four starts at Los Alamitos produced two wins and two thirds. Maldonado rides Professors’ Pride, who entered for the $20,000 optional claiming tag and figures to be forwardly placed over a speed-friendly surface. During opening week, 20 of the 24 races were won by horses positioned first or second at the quarter pole.

Turf-to-dirt Big Mama Sue and sharp claiming filly Love Our Family are the main rivals for Professors’ Pride.

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