Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner
BEST BET: 3-Risky Pleasure (Race 8)
Race #1: Selections: 1-3-5
A Maiden winner over this racetrack last August, 1-Jalisco drops a notch after finishing a well-beaten third against several of these in his most recent try on July 23. The O’Neill-trained charge figures to be much tighter, second off the bench. 3-Stanford Droput was runner-up, finishing ahead of Jalisco in the aforementioned July 23 $16k claiming event, sporting the field’s best last-out dirt Beyer (64), and is also likely to move forward today, making the second start off an eight-month freshening. 5-Eielson is pure cheap speed shipping in from Los Al and sped clear before tiring late in a lone try over this course last fall. The gelded son of Stay Thirsty has been consistently picking up checks at the 1,000-yard distance over the evening program, and figures to clear here with blinkers added. He’ll take them as far as he can.
Race #2: Selections: 1-4-3
Trainer Doug O’Neill sends out a top pair of fillies in this Maiden Special Weight turf route. Dirt to turf, 1-Janie Not Jeanie goes from two sprints to a route for her initial grass attempt. She’s by multiple G1 winner Mandaloun, who has produced a turf route winner, and this filly figures to trip out nicely from the fence with leading rider Juan Hernandez. Her stablemate 4-Let Her Fly flashed good speed through a snappy opening quarter in her first start over the local course on July 26 when settling for second, and figures to be tough right back as a logical contender. 3-Ogle is by multiple G1 winner Oscar Performance, who is 14% with juvenile debuting prodigy and 15% turf routers. The Michael McCarthy-trained runner lures Rispoli at first asking.
Race #3: Selections: 2-3-6
A solid runner-up over this course, distance and level on July 17 makes 2-Circuit Breaker the gelding to beat here for conditioner Bob Hess. He defeated a trio of today’s returning rivals that afternoon and figures for another advantageous tracking trip with Hernandez. 3-Che (Ire) scampered away to an impressive 11 ½-length maiden romp on July 19, earning a competitive (77) dirt Beyer, and looks well-placed facing winners for Team O’Neill. 6-Skyquist finished a non-threatening sixth behind Circuit Breaker in last, while never really picking up his feet, but that was his first try in 11 months. The gelded son of Nyquist ran well over this main track last summer and is reunited with winning pilot Drayden Van Dyk.
Race #4: Selections: 1-2-10
A runner-up two-back and a sharp 2 ½-length mild upset win on July 19, 1-Ah Jeez draws the rail for the first time in a long time while shortening back up to a mile. The gelding’s back-to-back (85) turf Beyers make him a logical fit again for the potential repeat for Team O’Neill, but the 0-for-17 skid at today’s mile journey is, at least, reason for some pause. 2-Double Neat ships in for new conditioner Peter Miller off a throw-out off-the-turf try over the sloppy going at Monmouth Park. Prior to that last mid-July flop, this gelding has been competitive at Tampa and Gulfstream on turf against allowance types; he may come out firing for his new connection. The late-closing 10-Zalamo (Fr) is usually the victim or beneficiary of how the early race flow shapes up, and he exits a solid closing third behind Ah Jeez in last.
Race #5: Selections: 6-4-1
6-Jetway saw a Beyer boost of nearly 30 points when finishing a well-beaten third on July 19 and now drops again for the lucrative Rosario-Sadler jockey-trainer combo. The 3-year-old son of Munnings should prove tough if able to replicate that speed figure. Plagued by several layoff lines, 4-Broheim makes career try number seven this afternoon off nearly a three-month break. The Not This Time gelding lures Hernandez off the mini-freshening and drops in for a career-low $32 claiming tag. Two bad starts to begin his career, 1-Freddy Five Four exits the same race as the top choice and drops as well while making the all-important third start for trainer George Papaprodromou. A better break will likely ensure a better finish.
Race #6: Selections: 1-4-2
The ever-growing popular low-takeout $3 Late Pick 3 kicks off here, and it’s a tough and tricky opening leg. 1-Frank Bullitt moves back to turf and shortens back up in distance off an impressive 3 ½-length main track win on July 17. He’s 0-for-2 going five panels on the Del Mar lawn, but enters in top-notch form. 4-Lucky N Smart returned off an extended break to win from far back over a bulky field when well-backed on July 19. It was an impressive score considering the time off. The Carla Gaines barn is running lights-out right now, and this lightly raced gelding may be ready to handle winners while likely to move forward. A beaten favorite in his last four starts, 2-Pokernightatvees is 0-for-4 on grass but shortens up in distance today with good gate speed when used effectively, and might be aggressively sent today for conditioner Sean Williams. This barn has a pair of price winners this meet—Come Out Fighting (5-1) and Native Land (22-1).
Race #7: Selections: 6-5-1
The question in this optional $50k claimer is where Team O’Neill’s 6-Howie’s Law will bounce off that eye-catching (99) Beyer and runaway 7 ½-length romp over this course off the 11-month layoff on July 19. The connections may have gotten away with one when offering this sophomore son of Tiz the Law for the tag that afternoon, and he should prove tough to overhaul, even with a slight regression. Claimed at Gulfstream when last seen winning back in late January, the lightly raced 5-Wall Street (by Into Mischief) returns off a seven-month layoff for conditioner Vladimir Cerin off a spirited local work tab, which includes a bullet five furlongs on Aug. 1. He lures Rispoli off the bench for an excellent layoff barn. 1-Got’m Cot’m finished a well-clear second when moved back to dirt on July 19 and likely has another progressive move forward forthcoming, third off the bench.
Race #8: Selections: 3-4-8-7
3-Risky Pleasure is back off a 5 ½-month freshening for trainer Craig Lewis and drops in for a first-time tag off the layoff. The daughter of Clubhouse Ride exits an April 18 event that’s produced three next-out winners, and she looks well-spotted for this afternoon’s comeback try with Hernandez climbing aboard. 4-Danzing Daisy co-tops the field’s best last-out turf Beyer, and is also dropping in for a tag for the first time. The sophomore filly rallied for the show spot against MDSW types in her first start in four months on July 26, and figures to be the one to beat on the class plunge, second off the bench. 8-Unusual Craving had a leg-stretcher when finishing a non-competitive seventh on debut back in mid-May and now quickly drops into the maiden claiming ranks for Mullins. Class-dropping 7-Nancy Two Point O returns off a 10-month hiatus for Richard Baltas with Lasix off a steady work tab.
