Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner
BEST BET: 3-Sharp Ride (Race 7)
Race #1: Selections: 3-1-4
3-Little Tinker Ellie ships in from Churchill for Sweezey, who already has two wins this summer meet. The daughter of Maximum Security showed improved speed in career try number two and fired an eye-catching “best of 129” bullet four-furlong drill in :46.3 on July 27 in preparation for this. 1-Pride of Queens finished a disappointing ninth and last in her July 19 debut and now drops in for a tag in start number two for Team O’Neill. This barn is 6 for 18 (33%) with dirt sprint maiden special weight to maiden claiming dropdowns at Del Mar the past five years. The daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner Complexity is likely to show more ability than her subpar unveiling. 4-Fire Ile finished a beaten favorite second at Los Al on July 4, facing similar, and now makes the all-important third career start for conditioner Ryan Hanson.
Race #2: Selections: 6-7-3
6-Shady Stripes flashed good speed before surrendering late in a game runner-up debut try for trainer Jeff Bonde back on May 24 at Santa Anita. The juvenile filly adds blinkers today, switches to grass, and should be tough to reel in. She has plenty of turf pedigree on the dam side to suggest she will handle it just fine. Blinkers on 7-Too Sassy also showed good early zip in a solid debut at Los Al on June 28, when tiring to finish a well-clear third. The daughter of Om is dangerous with any normal second-out progression for her low-profile connections. 3-Midnight Cowgirl has trained sharply in the a.m. for conditioner Ryan Hanson, including a local five-furlong bullet on July 23.
Race #3: Selections: 2-1-3
2-Twilight Empire is wheeled back on 19 days’ rest after rallying sharply for the place spot over the local course. The veteran 8-year-old mare goes two sprints to a route today for trainer Librado Barocio, who is having a strong seaside stand. She should be closer to the pace on the stretch-out. The ultra-consistent 7-year-old mare 1-Hollywood Mistress has a 10-11-14 mark from 48 lifetime outings and now makes her first start for the Mullins barn off the June 27 Los Al claim. She is a logical fit after back-to-back runner-up finishes. 3-Ivory Moon has never gone this far, but makes her second try off the bench for Miller today and drops in for a career-low claiming tag. She could improve, making her second try on dirt and was working well over the main track prior to her last fourth-place effort.
Race #4: Selections: 8-7-5
First-time gelding 8-Curvino ships in from Churchill for trainer Peter Miller and ran well enough in his two previous tries over the Del Mar lawn last fall. He drops in for a career-low $50k claiming tag and lures Hernandez. 7-Tariff was overmatched in his most recent grass route try over at Santa Anita, but now drops back down to the winning level from two back, where he posted the 25-1 upset. The sophomore son of Collected holds a double turf Beyer advantage over the rest of this field. Recently gelded 5-Typhoon Tommy stretches back out this afternoon for trainer Brian Koriner and should find himself falling into a favorable upfront pressing trip. He ran third in both efforts at today’s one-mile trip, two and three back at Santa Anita.
Race #5: Selections: 1-2-4
1-Ya’ll Come adds blinkers off a pair of well-bet wide third-place finishes for trainer Dean Pederson to start his career and is likely to be sent along with this afternoon’s rail draw. The gelded son of Smiling Tiger makes the all-important third career start, which is typically best. 2-Brunchandcrunch returns off an 11-month layoff for conditioner Richard Baltas after two troubled starts to begin his career. The now gelded son of Richard’s Kid has trained swiftly over at San Luis Rey for a good layoff barn, and could prove troublesome in this lackluster field if his gate woes are now behind him. 4-Crime Lord is by multiple Grade 1 winner Street Boss, debuting with Lasix for the Peter Miller barn off a steady work tab. He gets the hard-trying Kazushi Kimura in the saddle.
Race #6: Selections: 7-3-1
A well-matched field of nine gear up for the first leg of the $3 late pick 3 in what is a tricky race to handicap. 7-Baldoro has finished second in three consecutive one-mile grass routes, and exits a career-best (88) Beyer on June 8 for Powell. The 6-year-old gelding is shaky as a confident win bet but did defeat next-out winner Rastaman Vibe in his most recent start. 3-Single Track Mind (Ire) returns to action after over a year’s layoff but is proven over the Del Mar turf course and lures a top turf pilot off a spirited work tab. 1-Promissio is only 2 for 22 but moves up in class off a sharp effort when coming up just a nose short over this course on July 20. He moves from post 11 to the rail today and figures to sit a favorable ground-saving journey, sporting the field’s second-best late pace figure.
Race #7: Selections: 3-5-1
3-Sharp Ride returns to dirt after a disappointing try over the Santa Anita downhill course back in April for trainer Dean Pederson. This 5-year-old mare won back-to-back dirt sprint tries with competitive Beyers, two and three-back, and is likely to rebound nicely off the freshening. This barn is a sharp 5 for 10 (50%) with a lofty $6.40 ROI with horses returning off 61-90 days at Del Mar. The lightly raced 5-Young Love moves back to dirt, having won both grass sprint starts in 2025 for Hernandez and Miller. She had a troubled trip in her lone main track debut last June and should prove just as effective on dirt (Grazen, 21% Dirt Sprints). A beaten odds-on choice in his last three consecutive starts, the 11-time winning 1-Lady Gregory moves back to the main track today for Mullins and is a logical fit again, having hit the board in his last five starts. Berrios sticks.
Race #8: Selections 7-10-2
7-Lady of Power makes her second start off the bench today for Miller and is likely to move forward off her recent wide fifth-place effort. The daughter of Hard Spun sports the field’s best last-out grass Beyer (76). 10-Ms Brightside (Ire) returns off the min-freshening for D’Amato and drops in for a career-low $25k claiming tag. This filly’s lone win came with Risploi aboard. 2-Blue Oasis has been run down in back-to-back turf route tries after establishing the front for conditioner Tim Yakteen. She draws inside today, however, and makes her third start of the form cycle. She can hang on for a piece of the vertical exotics again.
