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Race 1-

1^st #7 Confidentiality with Mike Smith aboard is really the one to beat, a very well homebred filly running for Sheriffs.  In her race two back, the winner Spend Spend Spend has already come back to win another race. Her lost last out by a nose was a tough defeat.

2^nd #4 She Be Striking (GB) started her racing career much later than the average racehorse, and she has four races under her belt.  She’s by a Breeder’s Cup winning mare, by Smart Strike and gets the blinkers on. I am tossing out her last race.

3^rd #8 Curlin’s Journey is coming off of a nine month layoff with average works, but works don’t always mean anything.  Hopefully her ninth race will be the charm but I think she’ll need an out or two to get fit.

Race 2-

1^st #5 Beantown Boys won this past fall, and is about due for another win.  He does his best running at this distance on the dirt, seems to like Santa Anita also.  He loves running second though, seven places out of twenty-three starts.

2^nd #1 Avanti Bello has been around the block, and has made over half a million.  He takes a class drop here, which was kind of needed but his recent past races haven’t been bad.  He was also claimed twice last year. So don’t let his age get you, he’s still a fast old man.

3^rd #2 Impression took a long time to break his maiden but once he got it figured out he decided he liked the winning thing so he bounced back with a couple of wins soon after.  I don’t see him winning this race because a lot of the older boys seem more fitting for it, but I think he will be in the mix.

Race 3–

1^st #5 Belltown Belle has some fancy breeding and a lot of workouts.  I’m curious why she hasn’t raced sooner, but I’d like to give her a shot.  Her connections are solid too, she has a chance.

2^nd #6 Calm Down Lady might be dropping in class a little and coming off of a six month lay off, but I see her needing an out.

3^rd #3 Gadot is coming from all the way from Florida.  Maybe a better trainer will help to improve her. She was a $60,000 OBS sale purchase last April.

Race 4-

1^st #2 Anuket cost a hefty $575,000, and ran a smashing maiden breaker.  Her most recent work was fantastic, and Baffert and Van Dyke make a great team.  She should win, but the distance has me questioning. She’ll need to slow down.

2^nd #3 Slewgoodtobetrue ran two seconds and decided the third time would be the charm.  She broke her maiden by four lengths with Mike Smith in the irons. She is well suited for this race and won at a mile.

3^rd #5 Tapwater’s time in between her two races is inconsistent.  I am still trying to figure out the layoffs. Her win was on the turf, now we are coming back to the dirt.

Race 5–

1^st #7 Soothing has two second place finishes out of two starts which is why she is the heavy chalk.  Hopefully this time she will break better and be able to make up some more ground.

2^nd #1 Bold Mongolian fought back hard last time and didn’t want to take that second place finish.  With the fractions she ran, I’m surprised she held as long as she did. She’s now earned some respect.

3^rd #3 Bizwhacks hasn’t ran a mile on the dirt yet, she will need to slow down if she goes to the front.  If she sits off the pace, that should be okay too. I think she’ll be on the board.

Race 6-

Since rain is in the forecast, there are a couple of different ways to look at this one, so I am going to handicap it as if it was coming off the turf.

 1^st #14 Claudelle gets the blinkers on and has a big wet number.  Assuming she gets in and this is off the turf, I’d like to see her try the wet.

2^nd #3 Hello Bubbles also has a nice wet number but hasn’t tried the wet yet.  Her first race which was on the dirt wasn’t good but sometimes the first race isn’t necessarily a good one.

3^rd #9 Unicorn might not dig the wet, I guess we will see.  I would have loved to see her back on the turf.

Race 7–

1^st #2 I Am The Danger’s last couple of races have been pretty darn tough and he’s even being running Beyer numbers in the low ninety’s  He’s lightly raced, two wins and four seconds out of nine starts.

2^nd #5 Clyde’s Pride lost two back as the heavy chalk and bounced right on back to win again.  He very well could win again here based on his recent form.

3^rd #1 Best Two Minutes has been in some hard races, but he loves Santa Anita and didn’t lose by much last out.  He was also popular in the claiming box last year as he exchanged hands four times. He’s one that would be worth a claim.

Race 8–

1^st #3 Nero cost $950,000.  Let that sink in. Now with Baffert training, his first four races were great, but than they decided to run this guy in a grade one, and I don’t think it was a good idea.  However, he didn’t lose by much. I think this race is pretty much is his.

2^nd #7 Popular Kid has only gotten better with age, and running some big Beyer numbers lately.  He lives up to the name, as she was claimed six times last year. He’s a tough gelding even if the races he wins aren’t super big purses.  

3^rd #6 Surfing Star is lightly raced at the age of four, but he hasn’t ran a bad race yet out of the five races he’s ran.  His last two races have been spectacular. He had one sixth place but he only lost by four lengths and it was a really bad start.

Race 9–

1^st #6 Jeweled is coming down in class which was needed.  The Sidney’s Candy mare gets the blinkers on which should also help.

2^nd #5 Lucky Lula’s one win comes at Santa Anita.  She hasn’t won since last April, and the longer she runs the less interested she seems to be in racing, so that’s where the class drop comes in.

3^rd #4 Venice took thirteen races to pull of a maiden breaker and it was only by a neck.  I think she can run third, but I have some doubts with this them based on her racing record this far.