Risk-reward ratio comes into play in Friday maiden races

ARCADIA, Calif. – Before and after the maiden colt Worcester starts as a likely odds-on favorite in race 3 Friday at Santa Anita, maiden fillies offer bettors higher prices along with some added risk.

Collectmythoughts, a second-time starter in race 1, and Sharp Ride, a first-time starter in race 7, are less imposing than Worcester. But increased risk means increased potential reward. The fillies’ odds will be significantly higher than the colt’s.

Friday’s feature is the eighth and final race, a turf mile allowance for Cal-bred fillies and mares. Sunshine Babe and Big Clare are top contenders. The card begins at 1 p.m.

Race 1 is a maiden sprint that Collectmythoughts can win with a clean break. It did not happen in her debut. She broke last, unleashed an extended mid-race move, loomed at the quarter pole, and finished fifth of six. It was a better-than-looked debut.

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Collectmythoughts drops Friday into an optional $50,000-$62,500 maiden-claiming race for fillies and mares who raced for a tag or sold at auction for $150,000 or less. The drop from a maiden special weight in her debut is significant. Collectmythoughts, trained by Brian Koriner, might be gone. Others in the field include eight-start maiden Side by Side and first-timer Sweet Mother Mary.

Race 3 is a maiden special weight mile in which Worcester could be odds-on based on his winter figs. He earned a 96 Beyer finishing second in a maiden sprint and a 98 when third in a Grade 3 route. He subsequently finished 11th in the Group 2 UAE Derby in Dubai.

Bob Baffert trains Worcester, whose main rival is Dazzlemesilver, seventh last out in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Keith Desormeaux trains Dazzlemesilver. Stretch-out Austonian looms a potential front-running upsetter if he makes the lead from the inside post.

Race 7 is a Cal-bred maiden sprint. Sharp Ride makes her debut in the 5 1/2-furlong race.

Trained by Dean Pederson and sired by Clubhouse Ride, Sharp Ride is a full sister to Pederson-trained debut runner-up and three-time winner Thorne House, who will return in fall after recovering from minor surgery for a bone chip.

Pederson said Sharp Ride “is a lot like her brother.”

“She’s got a good mind and covers the ground very nice,” he said.

But the distance Friday might be too short Sharp Ride.

“I don’t know about five and a half,” Pederson said. “She’s got speed, but she isn’t one of those scalded-cat types.”

Sharp Ride’s main rivals include Whimsical Heir and Bold Choice.

Race 8 contender Sunshine Babe finished second by a neck at the level last out while idling in the stretch.

“She’s the kind that doesn’t like the whip, she doesn’t like it,” trainer Marcelo Polanco said, implying Sunshine Babe is more responsive to a hand ride. “She’s always very honest, I expect a good race from her.”

To win the turf mile, Sunshine Babe must hold off the rally of Big Clare, who makes her first start since finishing second at the level last June.

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