Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner
BEST BET: 6-Into the Hall (Race 8)
Race #1: Selections: 3-1-2
3-Rehearsal (Ire) rallied for the place spot in a 4-horse field on Jan. 16 at this same level for Hernandez and D’Amato, and now shortens up to six panels today. The 5-year-old mare has hit the board in six straight races and is a logical threat again on the turnback. 1-Wildfire Princess co-tops the field’s best last-out turf Beyer (76) with a close-up runner-up try on Feb. 8 over a pair of today’s returning rivals. Jaramillo replaces Hernandez, who sticks with the top choice. The other D’Amato filly is the recent maiden winner, 2-Nikolina, who won off the nine-month layoff and is lightly raced. The 4-year-old filly still offers plenty of upside.
Race #2: Selections: 1-2-4
The 6-time winning 1-Rousing Jewel goes two sprints to a route today for conditioner Steve Knapp and may find herself on or close to the lead today with the favorable rail draw. 2-Tiergarten was a well-beaten sixth when returning off an eight-month hiatus on Feb. 28, but can move forward this afternoon with the addition of blinkers on the stretch-out, while making the second try off the bench. 4-Perfect Life looks for back-to-back wins off the claim for new conditioner Lorenzo Campuzano. This filly’s winning Beyer came up light (53), but the Feb. 8 race did produce next-out winner Princess Daddy.
Race #3: Selections: 1-5-4-2
1-Sumter was a disappointing fourth at 4-5 in the Clocker’s Corner S. on Feb. 8 but is eligible to bounce back today for trainer Richard Mandella. The veteran 7-year-old gelding was a sharp runner-up in the Joe Hernandez (G2) two back with a lofty (97) Beyer. His stablemate is the Grade 2-winning 5-Seal Team (GB), who returns off a 10-month layoff and has never tried the downhill layout. He’s the class of the field despite having only run twice last season. The 6-year-old has run some of the fastest grass Beyers in this competitive lineup. 4-Gran Oriente (Chi) steps back up to face stakes competition this afternoon after a decisive 8-1 downhill upset score on Jan. 23 with the addition of blinkers. Florida shipper 2-Quereme Pass (Arg) is all speed for conditioner Jose D’Angelo and will likely take these as far as he can on the lead despite the class hike.
Race #4: Selections: 6-3-4
A habitual runner-up, 6-Last Call Paul put it all together for the gate-to-wire score against similar on Feb. 13, earning him the win and the field’s best last-out dirt Beyer (72). The 5-year-old gelding is hard to trust for the repeat, but will likely try to employ similar upfront racing tactics. The Victor Garcia re-claim 3-Mighty Kai was a beaten favorite in the last pair but ran well enough to hit the board in both appearances. The gelding fits well again this afternoon. 4-Mongolian Max usually runs on late to fill out the underneath exotics, as evidenced by his last four consecutive third-place finishes.
Race #5: Selections: 2-5-3
A beaten favorite in the last three tries, 2-Bro Bro drops out of an allowance sprint into this softer spot today for Team O’Neill. The Nyquist gelding did not have the smoothest of trips when finishing fifth in his most recent try (beaten only two lengths). He makes his third start of the form cycle this afternoon. 5-It’s a Cinch takes a sizable class drop from $50,000 claimers to today’s $20k level after a speed-and-fade on Jan. 15. The 4-year-old is the horse to beat based on that last-out (84) grass Beyer, but does have other speed to deal with that is drawn outside. 3-Frank Bullitt finished a much-improved second at 18-1 when adding Lasix on Feb. 14 despite a tardy break over the downhill course. The Grazen gelding should get another live race flow to close into today.
Race #6: Selections: 3-1-4
3-Kid Dynasty has not been out in seven months, but cuts his claiming tag in half for a good layoff barn and has trained smartly for today’s return to action. The red-hot Kimura takes over the riding assignment. 1-Treximo flashed speed and tired late to finish a good second in a solid debut try on Feb. 14 and is a logical win threat with any normal second-out progression. The class-dropping 4-Soi Ngern is an 11-start maiden who moves back to the main track this afternoon off consecutive fifth-place finishes. The gelded son of Good Magic has run third in seven of 10 lifetime starts and should appreciate the class relief.
Race #7: Selections: 3-2-7
3-Tempus Volat has really found his groove for conditioner Leonard Powell since moving to Southern California. The Not This Time colt finished a good second to repeat winner Hiding in Honduras in the G2 Mathis Mile and has trained sharply in the interim, including a four-furlong 3/115 workers in :46.2 on Feb. 22. 2-Namaron (Ger) drops out of three consecutive graded stakes tries into this softer condition spot today for trainer John Sadler while making his third start off the bench. Lasix on. 7-Captain Choochies is in stellar form, having won five straight for the Papaprodromou barn, and comes off a career-best grass Beyer (94).
Race #8: Selections: 6-5-1
6-Into the Hall has been well-rested since her impressive 6 ½-length maiden win back in late December for trainer Peter Eurton and has proven she can fire fresh. The pricey $875k daughter of Into Mischief looks well-spotted to start her 2026 campaign off a solid work tab. The 4-year-old filly should prove tough to reel in late with an alert break. The Dean Pederson-trained 5-Our Moonlight has had several up-close finishes since winning on debut back in December of 2024, including a pair of beaten favorite runner-up tries to start the year. The Tapit filly shortens back up to a sprint today and holds the edge in recency over the top pick. 1-Artisma has finished first or second in seven of nine career tries, and the only two off-the-board finishes came in the Grade 1 La Brea and Test. She’ll need to work out a trip from the rail, however.
Race #9: Selections: 3-8-10
A tricky closing leg. There are seven fillies (before scratches) making their 3-year-old turf debuts in the Saturday finale, with many trainers having questionable grass debut stats. 3-Balaza makes the all-important third career try today, adds Lasix, and has trained well off the mini-freshening for Mullins. This barn is a solid 17 for 69 (25%) with turf sprint runners returning off 61-180 days. 8-A Great Shaking flashed good speed when switched to turf in the last before fading late to fourth behind next-out winner Troisieme Etoile, who came back to break her maiden on Feb. 14. The daughter of Om goes second-time Lasix this afternoon. 10-Midnight Cowgirl returns off a seven-month layoff for trainer Ryan Hanson after finishing an even fourth in her turf sprint debut back in August at Del Mar. She adds Lasix today and lures Hernandez off the bench. This barn is only 1-for-24 (4%) with grass returnees of >180 days the past five years, however.
