Smoove It tries to keep it rolling for red-hot O’Neill
CYPRESS, Calif. – When trainer Doug O’Neill gets into a groove, a bettor’s best options are to jump on board or get out of the way.
O’Neill went 5 for 8 last week at Los Alamitos, won both weekend stakes, and surged to the top of the standings with a meet record of six wins from 14 starts. O’Neill enters closing week with more ammunition, including two live starters Thursday.
Smoove It returns in race 6, an optional-claiming sprint for statebred fillies and mares that is her first start since April. And the recently acquired Smooth Talker goes a mile in a starter allowance, race 7. The momentum may continue Friday, as O’Neill has five runners entered in four races.
O’Neill and owner Paul Reddam occasionally take shots with seemingly overmatched runners, and Smoove It was a Hail Mary the last time she ran. A 49-1 outsider in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in April, she finished last while being eased.
The optional-claiming sprint Thursday is the comeback race for Smoove It, who previously placed in two minor stakes and hit the board in two allowance races. She is 1 for 9 and scheduled to be ridden Thursday by Mario Gutierrez.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 9 Smoove It. Trainer Doug O’Neill is 3 for 25 with a $1.20 ROI over the past five years shortening horses from routes to sprints on dirt following a layoff of at least 45 days. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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The favorite in the race 6 feature is Global Hottie, a Bob Baffert trainee returning from a 10-month layoff with the top Beyer Speed Figure in the field and a series of solid works. Nine fillies and mares are entered in the six-furlong race.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 8 Global Hottie. Trainer Bob Baffert is 3 for 17 with a $0.84 ROI over the past five years with horses coming off a layoff of at least 180 days following a maiden victory. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
KEY CONTENDERS
Smoove It (Last 3 Beyers: 0-74-79)
◗ Smoove It is pure Reddam – he owns her sire and dam. Smoove It, a 3-year-old, is from the first crop of Square Eddie, a Grade 1 winner at stud in California. Smoove It was produced by the mare Smoove, a $350,000 Barretts purchase who won 2 of 17 starts. She has two other named foals; Smoove It is her only winner.
◗ The Los Alamitos track produced slower times and was fair to all styles last week, a change from the speed-friendly profile early in the meet. The change benefits Smoove It, who will rally from behind.
Global Hottie (Last 2 Beyers: 81-73)
◗ The fastest in the field on figures, Global Hottie is trained by Baffert and his assistant at Los Alamitos, Mike Marlow. Global Hottie is likely to start favored off a string of fast works.
◗ Global Hottie was the odds-on favorite in both of her starts last year as a 2-year-old. The Beyer she earned in her most recent start is the highest in the field. Favorites won 20 of 60 races during the first seven days of the 11-day meet.
◗ The allowance race Thursday is the first start for Global Hottie since November.
Moving Desert (Last 3 Beyers: 62-72-61)
◗ Trained by Blake Heap, Moving Desert benefits from a recent comeback at Del Mar. She finished fifth as the favorite while racing for the first time in nine months.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Adriatic Skye. Trainer Vann Belvoir is 4 for 10 with a $4.74 ROI over the past five years going from synthetic to dirt following a winning effort. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan