Having taken a long look at the pick 5 and decided races 4 and 5 were just too difficult to keep going, I stopped with a pick 3 caveman play to open the Wednesday card at Del Mar.

ON LEAVE
Trainer: Shug McGaughey
Last race: Aug. 31, 5th
Finish: 2nd by 2 ½
Beyer: 66
Racing without Lasix, this first-time starter from a low-percentage debut barn finished with interest behind a wire-to-wire winner. Her dam has produced five grass winners, including Ironicus, winner of this year’s Grade 2 Dixie for the same connections.

COACH Q
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Last race: Aug. 26, 3rd
Finish: 5th by 6 1/2
Beyer: 53
This 2-year-old was off slowly and finished evenly to split the field in a solid debut at one mile. By Super Saver, he is a sibling to graded winner Fiftyshadesofhay.

Saturday, August 29

Saratoga - Personal Ensign (race 6)

COMMENT: Sheer Drama made it two straight Grade 1 wins, stamping herself a legit number two in the division to Beholder. She came into this off a smart win in the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap and had no trouble with tougher foes and a shorter trip. She stalked in third as favorites Stopchargingmaria and Untapable dueled through modest splits. She bided her time in third, came up outside those two rivals into the lane, got the better of them and edged clear.

The penultimate week closes out with an appealing card with many very competitive races, and some with stand-out favorites. Whether we play any, all, or some of them will depend on the odds offered as close to post time as possible, and how they compare to our personal betting line.

1^st race – Ready for Summer (3-1); Ave’s Halo (7-2); Starship Pleasant (4-1); Sunrise Kitty (6-1)

2^nd race – No line; three of the seven maidens are first-time starters

D’ORO PARADISE

Trainer: Roger Attfield

Last race: Aug. 29, 1^st

Finish: Third by 1 3/4

Beyer: 67

She broke a bit slowly and then rallied inside from eighth to finish a clear third before galloping out well in her six-furlong opener. The Charles Fipke-owned 2-year-old possesses a pedigree with ample stamina. She’s by Medaglia d’Oro and from the family of Grade 1 winners Miesque and Kingmambo.

NIIGON’S LEGACY

A couple of intriguing longshots in a maiden claiming route on turf make the sixth race a good launching pad for a pick three play. I also intend to stand against the two morning-line favorites in the third leg of the sequence

This card is for the hardcore, the day after a massive 13-race Travers Day extravaganza. What’s more, it’s a tough one, too. There’s no single horse in any of the races on which I’d hang my shingle. Somewhat drained (mentally and financially) from Saturday’s pari-mutuel activities, I’m making one play on this card, the pick three covering races 6-8, and doing it in near-caveman style, with just one backup in two of the three races.

Contention runs deep Sunday at Saratoga in the late pick three, a three-race turf sequence, and the opinion here is to use three to five horses in each leg while emphasizing certain runners.

Race 9

FLASHLIGHT (2) and HONOR THE KITTEN (7) are the most likely winners of the ninth race, a $50,000 claimer on the turf, and are ‘A’ plays. But as is usually the case in grass races and specifically those for claimers, they are not lengths the best, so they will need trips to win.

Stellar Wind looks like a standout in the Grade 3, $100,000 Torrey Pines, and I will single her in a pick three ticket that begins on race 2.

Race 2