Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner
BEST BET: 7-Special Flower (Race 4)
Race #1: Selections: 1-2-8
1-Innovative has seen her Beyers increase with each subsequent start for D’Amato, and enters here off a near miss at 16-1 on April 20, when finishing in front of a trio of today’s returning rivals. 2-Nafisa removes the blinkers this afternoon for Team Baffert and has had several close-up finishes, as evidenced by her 8-0-4-2 record. Hernandez sticks. 8-Runyon Canyon makes her second start off the eight-month layoff for conditioner Simon Callaghan and can improve upon her recent fourth-place finish. The 4-year-old filly has run well in all three tries at today’s 1 1/8-mile trip.
Race #2: Selections: 1-6-3
1-Panuco is in sharp form, exiting back-to-back runner-up efforts against slightly better and was a winner at this $25k claiming level three-back. The 3-year-old gelded son of Stanford sports the field’s best last-out main track Beyer (64). 6-Winds of Freedom finished behind Panuco in his most recent try on April 18, but was a sharp winner two-back with a competitive Beyer for the veteran, longtime winning jockey-trainer combo of Desormeaux and Hess. 3-Nijinsky Halo drops to a career-low claiming tag and has good positional speed for low-profile connections.
Race #3: Selections: 2-6-1
2- Always on Cay goes two sprints to a route today for trainer Steve Knapp and removes the blinkers off an even fifth-place finish at this level on April 4. The 4-year-old gelding deserves another crack at this reduced level and gets the tepid vote. 6-Right Hand Ryder prefers to finish underneath as indicated by his 2-8-1 record from 22 career tries, but drops back down to a level he has been competitive at, and this barn has done well here at the current stand from limited opportunities. 1-Devilintheblugras steps up off a sharp April 25 win when facing cheaper and going today’s one-mile trip.
Race #4: Selections: 7-5-1
7-Special Flower drops back in for a tag today for Team O’Neill off a solid runner-up effort against allowance types on April 25. The lightly raced 6-year-old mare sports the field’s best last-out turf Beyer (77) and has good speed to coincide with today’s outside draw. 5-Kitty Katana (GB) is only 1 for 16 over this turf course but takes a sizable class drop for Sadler off the mini-freshening and switches to red-hot turf pilot Hector Berrios. 1-Free and Humble returns off a short six days’ rest for trainer Peter Miller after encountering traffic issues on May 10 and was a good second in front of several of these two-back. This barn has had a good success bringing runners back quickly in the past, and this mare projects to sit a favorable ground-saving journey if she runs.
Race #5: Selections: 3-1-8
3-Begin Again makes career try number 12 today but has good gate speed for conditioner Wayne Baker while making his second try off the bench. The 5-year-old gelding meets a weak group and is a gate-to-wire threat. The 5-year-old gelding 1-Fincairn goes turf to dirt and drops to a career-low tag today, making start number 14. He’s yet to hit the board but does have Beyer figures that match up well against this subpar group. 8-Alan’s Conquest improved to finish third in his second start at Los Al and fits here with another potential move forward.
Race #6: Selections: 9-5-6
9-Brahms Mendelssohn makes career start number two off a six-month layoff after finishing an even sixth in his grass sprint Del Mar debut last November. The colt adds Lasix today and attracts Hernandez off the bench, who scored with an 11-1 upsetter, Miss Jo’s Curlin, for this barn last Sunday. 5-Titanic Thompson was a much-improved second on the class drop, surface change, and addition of Lasix when finishing behind the aforementioned repeat winner Miss Jo’s Curlin. The Grazen colt is a logical threat with a similar effort. 6–Bonneville Jim finished an OK fourth in his grass debut back on March 15 and has had a series of slow synthetic works since that unveiling. This barn is a solid 5 for 22 (23%) with second-time turf sprinters over the past five years, and Berrios sticks.
Race #7: Selections: 1-5-3
The Doug O’Neill-trained 1-Mining District crossed the wire third but was placed second via disqualification on April 19 and has returned to work well since that runner-up finish, with a “best of 66” bullet four-furlong drill in :47 flat on May 10. The 4-year-old gelding’s Beyers have been moving forward in his last three starts, and another progressive move may be forthcoming. 5-Windribbon returns to dirt on the stretch-out for Miller and Hernandez and has run some of the fastest Beyers in the field, albeit sprinting. Turf to dirt 3-Shortman deserves another crack at this reduced level off a recent sixth-place effort when breaking a step slow and racing wide. The 6-year-old adds blinkers today while making his third try off the bench and has run some competitive main track Beyers for this level.
Race #8: Selections 2-3-6
2-Yacowlef (Ire) has won two of his last three turf starts and scored off the Hector Palma claim in his most recent victory on April 6. The five-time winner steps up in class in excellent form and sports the field’s best last-out grass Beyer (89). He shortens back up to a sprint today and retains Berrios. 3-Mystic Spirit returns off an eight-month layoff for trainer Michael McCarthy after flashing good positional speed in all eight career tries. The 4-year-old gelding has trained well for today’s return to action and gets Hernandez, who is 2 for 3 when piloting this gelding. 6-Our Bucky Charm returns to turf, where he put forth a career-best effort in start number two, posting an (86) Beyer. The gelding is confidently stepped up in class off a recent even fifth-place effort back in March and can improve on the surface switch. The gelded son of Munnings has worked sharply over the synthetic track.
Race #9: Selections 1-4-8
1-Atomic Drop is wheeled back off less than a week’s rest after a smashing 10 ½-length romp last Sunday afternoon and now goes first off the claim for trainer Steve Knapp. The nine-time winning veteran gelding will be tough to overhaul if he can run back to that (93) sharp Beyer on the quick turnaround. 4-Zimba Warrior has won two of his last three starts and finished a good rallying second in his most recent effort on April 18, when facing several of these. 8-Nameless has won six straight and is a perfect 4-for-4 at Santa Anita. The 4-year-old gelding steps up in class this afternoon, but continues to shine for the Mullins barn. He will likely employ closing tactics again this afternoon.
Race #10: Selections 9-5-3
9-Lunar Impact (GB) hasn’t been out in roughly 10 months for conditioner Dan Blacker, but fires sharply when fresh, and is a proven winner over the downhill course. The 5-year-old mare looks to notch her first stakes victory and gets Berrios back riding off the bench. The mare’s synthetic drills have been solid. 5-Venganza is back on his preferred downhill course after finishing a wide fifth in the Royal Heroine (G3) on April 26. The Mandella-trained mare has yet to break through with a stakes win but has been close. Grade 3 winner 3-Uncorked (Aus) gets some needed class relief today for D’Amato, having run in eight consecutive graded stake route events. She may appreciate the turn back in distance and is eligible to improve this afternoon, meeting a softer group.
