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Santa Anita 1/20/19 by Hunter Ulwelling (@hunterandhorses)

Race 1- 1^st #7 Count Alexander went on a thirteen month layoff, and came back to win with Geovanni Franco aboard.  He greatly improved since his layoff running an eight-five Beyer, and three races ago when he ran eleventh, he was only beaten by five lengths.

2^nd #4 Pincheck was thrown into some stiff competition when he got moved to the U.S, and he ran eighth, not beaten by all that much, but will benefit from the relief especially with Smith on board again.

3^rd #2 Kazan sure costed a pretty penny, ($485,000), and last out ran a pretty solid race, only beaten half a length.  He’s also been racing some tough company in his previous races.

Race 2- 1^st #8 Shanghai Billy takes a $30,000 class drop which should help him out quite a bit.  Tyler Baze is aboard, Mike Harrington trains.

2^nd #7 Moon Juice is seeking to make his eleventh race the maiden breaker.  He’s slowly starting to figure the racing thing out as he races more, Franco aboard.

3^rd #4 Pig Iron is also taking a class drop, and definitely needed it.  He’s also been on a layoff for seven months, which gives me the sense he had a possible injury.  He’s got some workouts, and they’ve mostly been nothing spectacular, but keep the class drop in mind.

Race 3- 1^st #3 Kenzou’s Rhythm has hit the board five out of six races at Santa Anita which is very good.  He’s been second twice in a row, I think he has a good shot.

2^nd #5 Lindante has two third places at Santa Anita but maybe now he’s ready to run a second or better.  His third place finish last out he was beaten by three and a quarter lengths.

3^rd #4 Banze No Oeste ran a bad race last out.  Literally went from running an eighty-five Beyer to running a forty-eight.  Quite a drastic change there, but maybe we can toss out that race.

Race 4- 1^st #6 Barlett Hall is perfectly capable of winning this race.  Sherrifs’s has had a great meet so far this early, and Blanc is aboard.  This horse cost $90,000, and still has a long way to go to earn back his purchase price, but his last race was an improvement.

2^nd #2 Captain N. Barron is probably tired of running second by a head.  So close to breaking his maiden, he’s ran fourteen races, and has four seconds and four thirds.

3^rd #1 Emotional Ride I am taking because there’s really not much in this field.  I don’t understand her odds of 4-1 when she ran seventh last out beaten by six lengths.  Didn’t start racing until the near end of his three-year-old season.

Race 5- 1^st #2 Three Quarter Time has Mike Smith aboard, is trained by Tom Proctor, and has had ten workouts since the end of October, so I assume she is ready to go.  This filly is by Tiznow and was purchased for $200,000.

2^nd #3 Live The Moment was purchased for $475,000.  Even though the works are not great, and her jockey and trainer aren’t doing hot at this meet, she is an Uncle Mo filly, owned by Godolphin racing.  Pretty hard to turn this one away, since she is a first time starter.

3^rd #5 Blue Moonrise was also purchased for a hefty price tag of $500,000, and is trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Joe Talamo.  Again, solid connections are always hard to turn down.

Race 6- 1^st #7 You Must Chill has three third places in a row, and has only been loosing by about a length or a little more and these third places were on the turf.  Time for him to maybe break his maiden.

2^nd #10 Railman is making his first start on the turf.  Last out wasn’t exactly a good run, but maybe a turf race can turn him around.

3^rd #9 Violent Behavior gets the blinkers on, and has three second places in a row.  He didn’t seem to like the turf when he ran one race on it, but maybe this time he could do better.

Race 7- 1^st #Silent Alarm has five thirds.  With Franco aboard, maybe he can improve, and get rid of the third-it is, and finally break his maiden.

2^nd #3 #4 Redrock Trail is going down a little in class which should help him.  He ran one good race, but then couldn’t really seem to get it together in his last couple of races.

3^rd #2 Shake N Fries has one second place.  With four races, and only one good race, it’s hard what to actually think of him, but this field isn’t loaded with talent, so I am hoping he can step it up.

Race 8- 1^st #9 India Mantuana won a grade three last out, but has lot’s of interesting things.  She has switched trainers a lot, has had quite a few layoff’s, and has been some tough company.  But last out, she stepped it up.

2^nd #2 Lynne’s Legacy has made a lot of money throughout the years and is one of those solid mares who just keeps grinding away and loves her job.  Just won a stakes last out.

3^rd #4 Amboseli has only won two races but has made almost $300,000.  Wow! She’s done so good in the tough stakes races she’s been in. She deserves a little respect.

Race 9- 1^st #1 Don’teatmycookies went from a $50,000 maiden claiming race to a $12,500 claiming race, and is coming off of a four month layoff.  This could be a red flag alert, thinking the horse could possibly be hurt, or the connections just really need a win.

2^nd #4 London Hotel has had a little two month freshening, coming off of a win, with Joe Talamo aboard.

3^rd #Mi Pajarito seems to kind of be struggling.  She won two back, but then her race last out wasn’t very good, but I think she can come back to run third.

Race 10- 1^st #4 Special Purpose has had quite a layoff.  When she raced last May at Santa Anita, she ran second beaten a length in her first U.S race.  She has talent.

2^nd #9 Fiery Lady is trying out Santa Anita for the first time, and has won five out of seven turf races.  She’s defiantly a solid mare who should run well today.

3^rd #1 Batiquitos also deserves a bit of a chance.  She’s had quite a few layoff’s, and won her first race, but since then, she hasn’t ran well until her most recent races.