Turf dash may favor a closer

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Quick Enough was both fast and fortunate last year, when he drew an outside post every start and knocked out three wins for trainer Ron Ellis.

But things get a lot tougher Wednesday at Hollywood Park, where Quick Enough faces a challenging scenario - stuck inside a ton of speed - in a second-level sprint many bettors will expect him to win anyway.

Five of the 10 entrants in the six-furlong grass race are front-runners, which is usually no big deal for Quick Enough. In each of his last six starts he drew an outside post, applied pace pressure every start, and hit the board every time.

Wednesday, however, Quick Enough (post 5) is buried inside four other front-runners - Dodgen Bullets, Bahama Breeze, Pocosin's Game Boy, and My City by the Bay. Quick Enough will try to win it the hard way, by taking heat from start to finish.

Jose Valdivia rides Quick Enough, a 5-year-old gelding with 4 wins from 9 starts and a good prep under his belt. He was away nine months before his comeback April 1 at Santa Anita, where he dueled on fast fractions, briefly shook free, then got collared by two closers and finished third.

It was a good comeback by a good horse, and Quick Enough might overcome the race shape Wednesday. And who knows? Maybe he can take back and rally from behind.

But if Quick Enough gets caught up in a duel, the race could fall apart. Dodgen Bullets is a committed front-runner who has been on the lead in all four of his starts. He finished second in a restricted stakes March 21.

My City by the Bay finished third last time behind subsequent Tiznow Stakes winner Liberian Freighter. Northern California-based Bahama Breeze has won 5 of 7 but has never raced on grass.

The race might unfold in favor of Noblety, a former speedball who has won his last two sprints by taking back and rallying from behind. Candy Pull, another closer, enters as a potential longshot, returning to the course on which he scored his most recent win.

* While the race-7 feature is wide open, front-runner Multitasker looks like a slam dunk in race 8, a $40,000 maiden claimer for California-breds. Multitasker is the speed of the field and can be long gone at 5 1/2 furlongs.