Short meet begins with eight sprints
Short and quick describes opening day at Los Alamitos and summarizes the abbreviated Dec. 3-12 daytime meet that fills a gap between the Del Mar autumn meet and the Santa Anita winter meet, which begins Dec. 26.
All eight races Friday at Los Alamitos are sprints; all 61 races scheduled at the seven-day meet are on dirt. Los Alamitos does not have a turf course. Southern California’s conversion to a turf circuit will pause. Del Mar and Santa Anita, both for the first time, ran more turf races than dirt races at their autumn meets (68-66 at Del Mar; 79-70 at Santa Anita.
The challenge for Los Alamitos is to find enough dirt horses to fill programs this Friday through Sunday and next Thursday through Sunday. The challenge for bettors is to identify likely winners and appealing overlays. They are not always the same.
The scheduled feature race Friday, an entry-level allowance sprint, was scrapped. The program begins with five claiming or starter allowance races, ends with three maiden races, and the “fair-to-all-styles” track profile will be tested on the 1,380-foot stretch, North America’s longest.
Race-1 front-runner Swamp’n Ain’t Ez could win his second straight by wiring the five-furlong, $6,250 restricted claiming race. But the fourth-place finisher from his last start, Captain N. Barron, had significant trouble and returns to face Swamp’n Ain’t Ez again. Bettors playing the 14 percent takeout, 50-cent daily pick five (races 1-5) probably should use both.
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Race-2 presser Active Account enters the $16,000 restricted claiming race, six furlongs, as the most probable winner on the card. Race-3 front-runner Whisky My God will try to wire the $8,000 claiming starter, at 5 1/2 furlongs, over Awhitesportscoat.
Five and one-half furlongs is the most frequently used daytime distance at Los Alamitos. At the December meet one year ago, winners came from everywhere at that distance – 14 led gate to wire, 18 were positioned second or third; 21 rallied from fourth position or farther back.
Race-4 likely favorite Defense Wins was claimed for $16,000 from a troubled runner-up finish by trainer Dean Pederson, who won a 29-way shake. Defense Wins enters the 5 1/2-furlong, $25,000 claiming/starter allowance as a likely winner.
Race-6 probable favorite Lemon Drop Shot should improve second start back, but an upset candidate may offer value. Both starts by Pyeong Chang were better than looked. He drops, switches to jockey Kyle Frey, and can upset the six-furlong Cal-bred $50,000 maiden-claiming race.
Race-7 favorite Oubabe might be the most heavily favored runner on the card; he races 5 1/2 furlongs in the Cal-bred maiden race. The John Sadler trainee finished third at Los Alamitos in his debut and second on turf at Del Mar.
Oubabe will be ridden by Juan Hernandez, who led the Del Mar fall standings and has won with 25 percent of his Los Alamitos mounts since early 2020, highest among local riders. To win the race, Oubabe must catch front-runner Mob Boss.