Horse Racing Picks for Saturday, September 27
Check out VSiN At The Track to catch up on the latest horse racing news and picks in all the major stakes this weekend! Make sure to subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you don’t miss an episode! Now let’s head out to Santa Anita for some stakes action!
Eddie D Stakes, Santa Anita, Race #8
I always love a good sprint down the hill, and this race is no exception! While contention runs deep in just a field of eight, I like the horse all the way to the outside. #8 First Peace, who is 9-2 on the morning line, enters second off a long layoff. The last race really muddies the form where First Peace did not break sharp and got floated wide on the turn while going just five furlongs at Del Mar. That’s simply not his game. He loves going down the hill, six starts with six top-two finishes, including winning this race last year.
#1 Reef Runner was controversially DQ’d last time out in the Green Flash. That was his first try on the Cali turf, so the hill is a question, but the numbers hit, and a step forward is not out of the question for this maturing four-year-old.
#6 Beyond Brilliant is an interesting entry here simply because his effort in the Green Flash was his first turf sprint in his seven-year career. Now, sprinting does make sense for a speed horse that couldn’t quite get a mile, so I am not shocked he liked it. The question is will he be better the second time around?
#5 Yellow Card ended last year with a bang, but has yet to replicate that form this season. He is third off the layoff here, so maybe the light comes back on, but I am not willing to take too short of a price.
Top 4: 8-1-6-5
The Bets – $50 Win #1
John C. Harris, Santa Anita, Race #10
In another run down the hill, let’s look to the rail and take #1 Warming, who ships in from New York. While at Saratoga, she took on the best in her division while going two turns. Now she cuts back to what she does best, sprinting. She broke the maiden and ran a sneaky good race second time out, both at six furlongs, and should be rolling late. The hill is a question mark for her, but that is the case for the majority of this three-year-old field.
#9 Eiffel was spectacular on debut, looking like a superstar, but the last two have both left something to be desired. Now she turns back to see if sprinting changes the result. She is loaded with talent, so I am willing to take a swing at 8-1.
#8 Favor to You won two straight races turf sprinting here before stepping way up in class in Kentucky. That was a failed experiment, so here we are. This is another one with the talent that has not put it all together, but JJ Hernandez jumps aboard for D’Amato, so there are positives.
#5 Lee’s Baby Girl is a live longshot here at 15-1 for Carla Gaines. She claimed this horse back in February and came back protected with a nice win off the layoff. She shows even more confidence here, stepping up to stakes level, and she’s got speed to be a player from the jump.
Top 4: 1-9-8-5
The Bets – $50 Win #1
