DelMar Selections 7-27-17 by @Gio_Ponti24
Del Mar Summer Meet
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Yesterday was an uneventful day with only my best bet coming through for us at the end of the day, but I’ll take it nonetheless. Another carryover day today as the pool starts off at $271,496.27 which I estimate will be at over $500,000 by post time today. I suspect that it will be a trick sequence to pull off as the track may look to try and beat the horseplayer and have the carryover continue to grow until the big races on Saturday (Bing Crosby) and Sunday (Clement L Hirsch), which are both Win and You’re In events. With a large crown expected for the weekend and a large enough carryover pool we could potentially be looking at a pick 6, well over $2 million. Wouldn’t that be nice? Icing on the cake on Saturday afternoon will be the premier of Zenyatta, a movie that will tell the story of the great race mare. This will occur shortly after the conclusion of the card. Withso much to look forward to this weekend let’s go ahead and take a look at the jockey and trainer standings and then move along to today’s selections and hope for some racing luck.
Evan Roman has now catapulted himself to the top of the standings with 8 victories after he captured the second and third race in yesterday’s card. Flavian is now tied for second with Bejerano after he was able to win the featured race aboard Curlin Road. It was a tough victory as well as an objection was launched, but ultimately was disallowed. With more stakes races coming up, I see it difficult for Evan to hold on to this lead unless he has a very good day today, which he could as he rides in 7 out of todays 8 races. Evans mounts are something to keep an eye out for indeed. The trainer standings had a similar shake up with Doug O’Neill leapfrogging both Peter Miller and Eurton atop the leaderboard after winning 2 races.
Del Mar has put together an 8 race program for today. Let’s take a look at today’s sequence and try to zone in on some potential winners for today.
Race 1:
#3 Zarqua Star: We don’t see Iggy Puglisi aboard many runners anymore, but when we do they are usually longshots that light up the toteboard when they win. This is not the case with this runner. This gelding will be a short price, but will be Iggy’s only mount for the afternoon as his mount in the second race scratched. I suppose he has to make it worth the trip right? This runner is going turf to dirt and shortening up to the distance of his last victory, which by the way was ultra-impressive. He drops in class and makes his second start of the month. It seems to me that the last turf experiment was a training run to get some of those juices flowing for this event. This horse has a solid record over the Del Mar surface with 2 seconds from 3 starts. Only negative I see, and I think is pretty big is that Puglisi has ridden him before more times than not and has yet to be able to get him into the winner circle. Perhaps a minor award is his ceiling with this rider. (Exotics Play)
#6 Strong Values: Hoping the value is there for this runner. He was not seen for almost 2 years after running exclusively on grass and not having much impact in those races, however dropped for his return, shortened up to the distance this race is carded for and delivered a smashing victory. He came back the following month to prove it was not a fluke and won yet again. Unfortunately in his third race back the rider lost his whip turning for home and was not able to deliver the patented late kick that had gotten him the previous 2 victories. Today this gelding gets the services of Martin Pedroza as the bug boy who rode him last (Evan Roman) opts for the speedster form the inside Cupid’s Beau. I, personally like the change to this rider as Martin Pedroza is an aggressive jockey that will have him closer to the pace from his outside slot in this abbreviated distance. With good tactical speed and an affinity to level off nicely in the stretch I think he may be able to pull off an upset today. (Exotics Play)
Race 3: First Leg of Pick 6:
#2 Interrogator: This runner has been burning money in his most recent runs and it does not bode a lot of confidence in him but there is some hope here. This runner has done well on grass and actually holds a perfect 1 for 1 record on the Del Mar sod. Connections thought enough of him after that victory at Del Mar to try him in the Eddie Logan, however after being 3 wide he folded in the late stages. He is now placed in a more realistic spot and gets the services of Evan Roman, who has been riding lights out and gets back on the grass after running a dull 4th on the dirt when we last saw him. Blinkers are off, new barn, new jockey and back to what I believe is his preferred surface. All systems go. (Value Play)
Race 7:
#1 Princess Kendra: AGAPITO time! This race to me screams out chaos. We have a speed demon on the outside seeking her 7th win in a row, another speed horse who is dropping out of the G3 ranks for this event in the #5, and perhaps the main speed rival to Mended (#7) in Mangita #4, who by the way was just defeated by Princess Kendra. Those are three very fast fillies that will ensure a good solid clip for someone to come from out of the clouds and run right by them. Although it seems like a daunting task, I think Kendra is up for it. She comes into this race with a 2 win streak of her own, seeking her third, and is a very consistent sort. She has finished 1st or 2nd in 8 out of her 9 last races. I do admit she has not fared well on this circuit BUT that was a while ago and she is on the best form of her career. No better day to give her a shot against these gals than when she is on her peak. Aim for the sky because the ground is too close to your feet! (Long shot play)
Race 8:
#6 Gee Street: Nakatani jumps off and chooses the European runner for the same trainer of this filly, but we get the services of Bejerano, so nothing lost there. Last race she encountered a lot of trouble having to steady sharply at the 1/8th pole, but still managed to get within 3 lengths of the winner. Prior to that race she finished a solid second behind a runner that also finished 2nd a few days back. With a clean ride and some help upfront she could finally breakthrough and post a victory for the Baltas barn. Looking to close out the day with a winner again. (Best Bet)
#10 Tiz My Love: keep an eye on this runner as she is making the first start on grass, but seems to have the speed necessary to close out the outside post and lead them a long way under Van Dyke. Unless Tweeting and Gary Stevens rush out to try and take the lead I see this runner being on the front end which could be dangerous for everyone else. (Exotics Play)
