Horse Racing Picks for Saturday, January 10
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Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita, Race 4
Let’s head to Santa Anita and take a crack at a MSW with a horse who was clearly targeted for this spot. #4 Romantic Ride was a Cal-bred horse who debuted in Kentucky in a Maiden Claimer for $30,000. He was 26-1 in that race, yet someone dropped the claim ticket and bought him. He drastically out ran his odds to place second that day and is now shipped cross country to face state-bred company. Pedigree points to Romantic Ride taking to the turf and a bullet work sealed the deal.
#9 Dark Omen is a first-time starter who has worked well for this debut. Desormeaux takes the mount for a barn he’s winning with at a 58% clip. The only drawback is the barn has struggled with horses on their first time out.
#5 Dr. Filkins is a spicy price play sitting on the board at 20-1. He’s one of the more experienced runners in the field with two races under his belt and speed is on his side. Of the horses who have run, he’s got the most early gas and that can be enough to hit the board at this level.
#2 Monsieur Big heads to the track for the second time, but the first time on turf. He’s bred to handle the surface and jockeys have faith in this colt. Velazquez rode on debut where he was bet down to 2.3-1. Now Rispoli takes a leg up for Yakteen, who can score with big numbers.
Top 4: 4-9-5-2
The Bets: $50 Win #4
20k N1X Allowance, Santa Anita, Race #10
#2 King of Dragons saw a nice improvement last time out on the barn switch to Peter Eurton. If you throw out the race two back when he was sprinting, then his current number is the best of the bunch here. There is a boatload of speed signed on as well, which should set up for a nice late run from Dragons.
#4 Cali Cat will be a part of that pace, but he did break his maiden coming from off the pace, so we know he is multi-dimensional and can score from off the pace. He drops to the lowest level of competition since breaking the maiden as well.
#12 Warm Sun and Brew got the worse of the draw or else he’d be higher on the list. Trainer Glatt does extremely well off this type of a layoff and draws top jock Hernandez to ride. He has shown an ability to pass horses in the past, so he will need to sit off the speed here to win. If he works out a trip, he is a threat.
#1 Cullen J won the draw here and can utilize his early speed to get position. I’d prefer he does not go to the front, but if he sits and gets first run, he should be around late.
Top 4: 2-4-12-1
The Bets: $50 Win #2
