MR LEXIS
Trainer: Roger Brueggemann
Last race: Jan. 8th, 8th
Finish: 2nd by 1/2
Even-money favorite went a slow pace and still was holding on to win by a half-length over this horse, who broke last, still was well back turning for home, raced in traffic, and finished nicely in his first start since July.
KING OF ALL MEDIA
PUSHME PULLYOU
Trainer: Joe Orseno
Last race: Jan. 7, 5th
Finish: 2nd by 5
Beyer: 67
Bothered and carried out around the first turn, recovered to finish clearly second-best behind a front-end winner who set a leisurely pace in a $20,000 claiming route.
AUDRA
Trainer: Doug O’Neill
Last race: Jan. 7, 5th
Finish: 3rd by 1/2
Beyer: 70
This improving filly was compromised by a track bias in a starter allowance. She raced wide over a surface that favored the inside lanes and finished with run. Next time against similar.
COMMENT: When on her game, Sandiva is only a notch below the best turf gals around, and she showed that here, proving a handy winner. Off since finishing third in the Grade 3 My Charmer during the Gulfstream Park West meet Nov. 21, she dueled in the Marsha’s River with Quiet Kitten and Divine Aida through modest splits, finally took command on the far turn, opened up and kept a couple hard-trying closers at bay in the final furlong. The Grade 3 Suwannee River here Feb.
A series of deep, competitive races make the 50-cent pick four at Gulfstream one of the more appealing wagers at that track Sunday. So let’s take a swing at hitting it.
Race 8
I slightly prefer two horses in this first-level turf allowance for 3-year-old fillies: INSTA ERMA (2) and GLIDING BY (4), both of whom go down as ‘A’ runners in the ABC ranking system used in Daily Racing Form’s Ticketmaker program. Each is a winner on the turf and has run Beyer Speed Figures in the 70s on the grass.
California Chrome’s victory in Saturday’s San Pasqual was not the best performance of his career, but it wasn’t meant to be. The 2014 Horse of the Year was making his first start since his game second in the 2015 Dubai World Cup 9 1/2 months ago, and with a repeat engagement in the World Cup in his sights 2 1/2 months from now, the San Pasqual was merely a means to an end.
Bettors facing doubt this week over weather and track condition can welcome one certainty Saturday at Santa Anita – California Chrome will start as an underlay in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes.
Of course, California Chrome should win for reasons including class, speed, and pace. But an important ingredient is missing – current condition.
Sunday’s nine-race card at Santa Anita will be contested only on the main track since El Nino has brought some much-needed rain to Southern California this week. This makes things difficult for horseplayers, as many of the horses trying dirt Sunday are primarily turf runners. That said, there are a couple of intriguing runners Sunday who could be playable.
In attempting to leverage something much better out of MAJESTO (No. 6) than his 3-1 morning-line price in race 8 at Gulfstream, I will try to get alive to him in the pick three after picking and choosing from the two preceding races.
In race 6, which is scheduled to be run with a field of 14, I’ll use some of the main contenders while throwing in some bombs.
The new year started off with a weird Pix result—we didn’t really expect R Girls a Charmer to dash right out again and crush her field, but this filly, whom we liked in a gimmick way, looks like a major player for the future. The others that we figured either had a chance to upset or get into a gimmick hardly picked up their hooves. It was a very quiet week all around, with seven BreezeFigs maidens winning, including King Kranz, who finally broke his maiden on the holiday in the Lost in the Fog Stakes at Aqueduct, kickin
