Sunday Rules major player in pick six
ARCADIA, Calif. – The pick six Wednesday at Santa Anita is filled with ambiguity – unreliable droppers, murky pace scenarios, and undefined distance preferences.
Fortunately for bettors chasing the $80,136 carryover, there is one obvious certainty. In the $75,000 Kalookan Queen Stakes, the speedster Sunday Rules is the one to catch.
“Once she gets into stride, she carries it better than most, as fast as she can,” trainer Phil D’Amato said.
The front-running style has allowed Sunday Rules to win six of her seven starts, including two stakes. She will employ similar tactics Wednesday.
Sunday Rules enters the 6 1/2-furlong Kalookan Queen, race 6, as the speed of the field. But the stakes is no walkover. Dancinthenightaway has a sharp prep under her belt and could get a cozy trip positioned second; the comebacker Tara’s Tango has placed in three stakes, including a nose loss to Grade 1 winner Stellar Wind; and the stakes winner Harlington’s Rose posts occasional upsets. The others in the field are Kiss At Midnight, Stealth Drone, Lost Bus, and Wasted At Midnight.
While the stakes principals are obvious – Sunday Rules, Dancinthenightaway, and Tara’s Tango – other races in the pick six are befuddling.
Race 3 is a $16,000 claiming sprint for fillies and mares, non-winners of three, in which the suspicious droppers Exposure and Missy Mouse are chief contenders. Neither is reliable, and all seven entrants have a shot in a spread race.
Race 4 is a $25,000 claiming, nine-furlong turf race for fillies and mares, led by the dropper Shysheisnot and Kadesha. The four turf routes during opening week were won by speed, but the course configuration changes Wednesday. The temporary rails move from zero to 20 feet.
Race 5 is a $10,000 claiming sprint. The last-out route winners Formally Wild and Carlot Cowboy figure as top choices while shortening up. Four of the 11 sprints during opening week were won by route-to-sprint runners.
Race 7 is a deep second-level allowance for fillies and mares at a mile on turf. Contenders include the closers Gusto Dolce and More Than Less and the front-runners/pressers Paulina’s Love and Spirit of Ten.
Race 8 is a route for maiden special weight 2-year-old fillies. She’s a Warrior stretches out following two good sprints and could set the pace. Dreamarcher has two routes under her belt; the well-bred Floripa can improve following a promising debut.
As for the sixth-race feature, Harlington’s Rose upset the Kalookan Queen one year ago. This year, however, the race is likely to be won by one of the three below.
KALOOKAN QUEEN, RACE 6
KEY CONTENDERS
Sunday Rules
(Last 3 Beyers: 93-80-87)
◗ A sharp half-mile work last Thursday signals Sunday Rules’s readiness. “The track was like two seconds slow that day,” D’Amato said. “I had good horses go five-eighths in 1:03. She went in [47.80], just kind of cruising.” The work was the fifth-fastest of 67 at the distance.
◗ Sunday Rules has a distinctive running action. “She’s got a very unique stride that you don’t see too often, with her head carriage so low,” D’Amato said. “It’s an A.P. Indy-like stride. She’s very efficient.”
◗ Mike Smith rides Sunday Rules.
◗ Owned and bred by Nick Alexander, Sunday Rules was sired by Tribal Rule. The 4-year-old filly has lucrative options ahead – the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Turf Sprint on Jan. 30 or the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Monica Stakes on Jan. 23.
Dancinthenightaway
(Last 3 Beyers: 93-80-87)
◗ Dancinthenightaway won her first three starts in 2014 and then was sidelined following a fourth-place finish in a Grade 2 in early 2015. She returned last month with a solid runner-up comeback in a turf sprint at Del Mar.
“She had been off a long time; she probably needed the start,” trainer Mark Glatt said. “She trained well since then.”
◗ Blinkers are off Wednesday. “Early in her career, she wanted to look around and kind of saw things,” Glatt said. “Now she’s more experienced and a little older. I don’t think she needs the blinkers.”
◗ Glatt hopes to stretch out Dancinthenightaway to longer distances and believes removing blinkers will allow her to ration her speed.
◗ Dancinthenightaway is owned and bred by Al and Sandee Kirkwood. Tyler Baze is her rider.
Tara’s Tango
(Last 3 Beyers: 78-80-91)
◗ Tara’s Tango won her debut last year at age 2 and placed in three successive stakes early this season.
◗ The Kalookan Queen is intended as a prep race for longer distances.
◗ She is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. Jockey Martin Garcia takes over for Smith.