Return to a sprint should put Snark over the top

ARCADIA, Calif. – Prior to a stakes-charged weekend, Santa Anita presents a Friday card filled with starter allowance, maiden, and claiming races. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In fact, races on unassuming weekday programs are frequently more appealing to bettors than weekend stakes such as the 11 scheduled Saturday through Monday at Santa Anita. Five Cal-bred stakes will be run Saturday, three graded stakes Sunday, and three Grade 1’s Memorial Day – the Hollywood Gold Cup, Shoemaker Mile, and Gamely.

Early favorites Sunday include Brickyard Ride in the Grade 2 Triple Bend, and Cairo Memories in the Grade 3 Honeymoon. Monday’s triple-header includes Royal Ship vs. Stilleto Boy in the Gold Cup, Smooth Like Strait in the Shoemaker Mile, and Going Global in the Gamely. First things first on Friday.

It’s nothing to brag about, but trainer Eric Kruljac and his maiden filly Snark share a frustrating attribute – stuck on seconds. Snark, a four-time runner-up, returns to her preferred turf sprint trip as the horse to beat in race 1 for maiden fillies and mares.

As for Kruljac, he consistently delivers for horseplayers. His starters generated a flat-bet profit each of the past four years, five of the last six. Then 2022 arrived and “everything is seconds and thirds,” Kruljac said. It was not a complaint. This season at Santa Anita, his 46 starters have produced four wins and 19 two-three finishes. “They’re hitting at 50 percent in the money,” Kruljac noted.

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Snark faded last out at one mile. It was a toss race. “She’ll sprint,” Kruljac said. “She’s training very well.”

Joe Bravo rides Snark, whose rivals in the six-furlong turf sprint include comebacker Leisurewear and first-time starter Real Fire. Kruljac also has the horse to beat in race 3.

A troubled trip compromised Del Mar Drama last out in a similar starter allowance, non-winners of three. Like many turf sprinters, she encountered trouble at the dirt crossing on the backstretch, waited in traffic on the turn, and finished well. Another runner-up finish for Kruljac.

Del Mar Drama’s rivals on Friday include late-runner Dancing Dana and front-runner On Purpose.

Race-4 contender Big Scott Daddy was hustled into the non-winners-of-two $25,000 claiming sprint. Trainer Jonathan Wong may agree 5 1/2 furlongs is too short, but late-runner Big Scott Daddy can win anyway if he catches class-drop comebacker Superman Shaq and dropper Pyeong Chang.

If a longshot bomb is worth backing Friday, she is in the ninth race. For the Good Times had a brutal trip finishing fifth in a similar turf route last out. She is reunited Friday with Umberto Rispoli, who rode her to a maiden win early last year.