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Santa Anita Derby

1. Friar’s Road- G. Franco/ McCarthy
   1. The good old Maiden in a Grade 1 angle. I never play this angle unless the horse is coming out of huge stables. I think the horse is talented but facing this competition, makes him have relatively no shot. Even Prat chose the other McCarthy here. 
2. Rushie- Prat/McCarthy
   1. The other McCarthy in this spot is Rushie. Rushie has beaten winners before but was only in OC company. Prat gets aboard today for the first time as Rosario heads back to the East. Rushie should be contesting the pace today and seems to be improving in each race. Is he capable of pulling the upset? That seems to be the main question and the addition of Prat helps his chances.
3. Shooters Shoot- Cedillo/ Eurton
   1. Shooters Shoot should be going to the lead early and trying to take it gate to wire. Cedillo is familiar with him also as Cedillo is the usual rider for this colt. He has a win over the track as well which was his maiden victory. I think he is outclassed however and will be looking elsewhere.
4. Anneau d’Or- Espinoza/Wright
   1. This is the last time I will be playing Anneau d’Or unless he wins. I think he finally gets his preferred track and Victor Espinoza gets aboard too which might be a plus depending on how you look at it. Either it is a plus because Victor is more knowledgeable at Santa Anita than Juan Hernandez, yet Hernandez has been on fire in Northern California. If the trip sets up for him, he should be alive.
5. Azul Coast- Rispoli/Baffert
   1. Azul Coast gets to go back to the SA dirt in which he ran his highest beyer and ran 2nd to Authentic in the Sham. He seems to be super outclassed here though and Rispoli rides for Baffert today which is very unusual. Unless the pace completely collapses, I don’t see him winning today.
6. Honor A.P.- Smith/Shirreffs
   1. Honor A.P is a very vulnerable favorite to me. He should be the second choice and still a short price. Authentic is the horse to beat in this spot and Honor A.P. already lost to Authentic once in the San Felipe. Mike Smith shows up for these type of spots but I just don’t see anything happening here.
7. Authentic- Van Dyke/ Baffert
   1. Authentic should be the favorite here and should win easy. However he might need to sit off the pace early for the first time. I think he is the class in here and I want to beat him at the short price, but he might be just the best of the best here. I see nothing really wrong with him in this Derby prep. 

TOP PICKS:

#4 Anneau d’OR

#7 Authentic

# 2 Rushie