In the two Gulfstream races, JACKSON BEND proved to be the class of the field and didn't show any signs of rust, winning the Hal's Hope in impressive fashion, swinging out around a wall of horses down the stretch and pulling away. I tossed him in my small exacta wager, but the play only cost me $12. In the Ft. Lauderdale, SILVER MEDALLION had to come from the back of the field to catch YUMMY WITH BUTTER in deep stretch to score another win on the turf for Todd Pletcher. This one is one to watch down the road, as he won despite soft early fractions and some trouble down the stretch. I would imagine the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap next month is a logical spot for this improving runner. My pick, SANTIVA, sat just behind those soft fractions set by MUTUAL TRUST, but didn't have anything to show when the real running began late.
So, one winning ticket out of the three should have given me a profit of $42.90 on the day, but I took a shot on RECONSTRUCTION in the ungraded California Derby at Golden Gate Fields. I thought this horse, trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, had a chance to steal this one on the lead, but the other Hollendorfer horse, RUSSIAN GREEK, took the win. The $20 win bet left me with a meager profit of $22.90 with two more graded stakes to go on this extended holiday weekend.
One of those races, the G2 Santa Ynez Stakes for 3yo fillies, will be run at Santa Anita later today. This race features a field of just six, but there is some talent here. RENEESGOTZIP was an impressive maiden winner last month and makes the immediate jump to graded company. This one has shown just two easy workouts since, but should be ready to run again. ROWDY GAL is 2-for-2 lifetime for John Sadler and make the logical jump to graded stakes company after winning an $80k OC last time out. This one, however, was a full second slower than RENEESGOTZIP in their two latest 6f wins. CANDREA disappointed when shipped out of California for the BC Juvenile Fillies (11th of 14) and the G3 Delta Downs Princess Stakes (9th of 10). She returns to familiar surroundings (and bute?) where she showed solid form in three starts prior to the BC effort. She turned in a bullet workout on 12/9/2011 and has been working steadily since then for Bob Baffert. Baffert has another entrant here, LADY HOKULEA, who may just be a rabbit to ensure solid fractions up front. MADE TO LOVE her drew the rail and makes her first graded stakes debut after winning the Moccasin Stakes in her final race of 2011. Finally, PAINTED WOMAN is 2-for-4 lifetime, winning a n1x allowance race two back prior to a 4th place finish in a minor stakes attempt. This one ships in from Keeneland and Woodbine and attracts Mike Smith.
RENEESGOTZIP could be anything and is likely to go off as the odds-on favorite. If she repeats her maiden voyage, she should handle this field even if CANDREA returns to her previous California form. However, the pace scenario could set things up for ROWDY GAL if RENEESGOTZIP gets involved in an early speed duel with LADY HOKULEA. I'll go with ROWDY GAL on top and bottom of exacta tickets with RENEESGOTZIP and MADE TO LOVE HER, who might be rounding into top form. We'll go $10 with ROWDY GAL on top and $5 underneath those two for a total investment of $30.
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