Solid Wager, Show Me Da Lute face questions in allowance

CYPRESS, Calif. – Are the favorites vulnerable in the seventh race Friday at Los Alamitos?

Solid Wager is a very good sprinter. Problem is, the first-level allowance/optional $40,000 claiming race is one mile around two turns.

Show Me Da Lute is an established route specialist, but his most recent start was a bust. He finished seventh at the same condition.

Perhaps the favorites are shaky. Or maybe concerns over distance and current form are unfounded. After all, Solid Wager once was a reliable two-turn gelding, and Show Me Da Lute has an alibi for finishing nowhere last out. The pace was extreme.

Seven colts and geldings entered Friday’s featured race, including the sharp Mercer Island, the stretch-outs Fight On and All Out Blitz, and the turf-to-dirt entrants Mr. Opportunist and Gain Ground. The top contenders are Solid Wager and Show Me Da Lute.

“He hasn’t shown us much ‘Lute’ yet,” Show Me Da Lute’s trainer, Bob Baffert, cracked, but his allowance runner-up finish two starts back would be good enough. He missed by a half-length and finished more than five lengths clear of third. In his next out, he was a pace casualty.

“They were out there winging, he just went real fast,” Baffert said. Show Me Da Lute pressed a 46.23-second half, the fastest of any dirt mile at the Del Mar meet, and lost by 10 lengths.

As for Solid Wager, trained by Peter Miller, his recent form includes a win and two seconds in his last three starts. A graded stakes-winning sprinter, his 13 starts in routes include two wins and five in-the-money finishes.

KEY CONTENDERS

Solid Wager, by Birdonthewire
Last 3 Beyers: 93-86-89

◗ A 7-year-old, he has won nine races and $658,771 from 44 starts. Miller has trained him throughout his career, which began in 2013. Apprentice Heriberto Figueroa rides.

◗ Solid Wager is a trivia answer. He was the beaten favorite in the 2013 Graduation Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds. The winner, scoring his first career stakes, was California Chrome.

Show Me Da Lute, by Midnight Lute
Last 3 Beyers: 65-88-73

◗ Baffert entered the week having won five straight races at Los Alamitos. Joe Talamo rides Show Me Da Lute.

Mercer Island, by Tapit
Last 3 Beyers: 88-84-80

◗ He won a $32,000 claiming race last month in his first start since being claimed by Mark Glatt. Rafael Bejarano rides him back.