Even though it may not have looked like it, City to City get her nose to the wire first int he John C. Mabee on August 12.
Possibilities a plenty to score over the final two days and snap the extended down spin and while the quality of racing has made this meet a rousing success, the stock entered in the $250,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap (Grade II) over 1 1/16-miles on turf is evidence of a weak older female turf division.
The star power or lack there of was made further lacking by the scratch of 5-to-2 favorite All Star Heart, leaving City to City as the top choice and 122-lb. high weight after nosing out All Star Heart in the John C. Mabee (Grade II) on August 12. However, in the past year the 5-year-old daughter of City Zip has regressed to finish off the board following a pair of wins.
Considering the talent level, Halo Dolly can make the jump into graded stakes action a winning one having already notched 12 wins from 21 starts. The 4-year-old daughter of Popular has dominated state-bred and restricted competition and has the versatility to win no matter how the race unfolds.
After missing by just a length and a half in the Mabee, Go Forth North could get back in the win column for the first time since October of 2010 over a course where she’s finished in the money in 5-of-6 tries. The 5-year-old North Light mare has five third-place finishes in stakes action since her win in the Harold C. Ramser Handicap (Grade III) at Hollywood Park.
Byrony has been favored in all threeU.S.starts that have resulted in a pair of wins and a runner-up effort missing by just half a length in the Osunitas on July 21. The 4-year-old Irish-bred daughter of Byron will likely not be the favorite today, which could make her the value for the potent duo of John Sadler and Rafael Bejarano.
We’re off to the races!
Pick 4 -
Leg 1 – Race 8 (3,4,5,6,7,10,11,13) – A wide-open sprint and we’ll hope to catch a price to get things started using No. 3 High Test, No. 4 Sheer Talent, No. 5 Guidopanzini, No. 6 Castletown, No. 7 Doyouseemecoming, No. 10 Macho Dorado, No. 11 Korban and No. 13 My Summer Slew.
Leg 2 – Race 9 (6,7,8) – We’ll play against favored City to City and use the trio of No. 6 Byrony, No. 7 Halo Dolly and No. 8 Go Forth North.
Leg 3 – Race 10 (5,6,11) – No. 6 Missdang Sally moves to Joe Talamo after a questionable ride last time, while both No. 5 Not Kidding Around and No. 11 Fly to Freedom have consecutive in the money finishes over this track.
Leg 4 – Race 11 (4,5,9,10,12, 13) – The customary spread with non-winners of two lifetime using No. 2 Tiz a Brite Miss, No. 4 My Diane, No. 5 Never Shea Never, No. 9 Secret Genius, No. 10 Hout Bay, No. 12 Totally Blonde and No. 13 Bila Shaka.
Recap – (3,4,5,6,7,10,11,13) w (6,7,8) w (5,6,11) w (4,5,9,10,12,13) – Total cost of ticket = $216
Yesterday’s Result – (-$108)
Total for current Del Mar meet – (-$1,035.45)
Total from 12/26/10 – 7/15/12 – (-$1,571.15)
Pick 5 –
Leg 1 – Race 1 (2,3,6) – No. 3 Unstopper Topper gets Bejarano to try and nurse his speed to the wire first, No. 2 Accelerant can get first run on the closer and No. 7 Woodmans Luck switches to Mike Smith for the first time off a remarkable string of underneath finishes.
Leg 2 – Race 2 (4,8,10,11) – No. 4 Tiz Lovely is the most likely winner at short odds moving to a top rider for the first time, but she could get pace pressure early so we’ll spread with No. 8 Zambra Mora, No. 10 Stormin Cee’s and No. 11 Yodelin’ Angel.
Leg 3 – Race 3 (2) – No. 2 No Silent can save ground drawn better today than last time and stalk behind dueling leaders with Rafael Bejarano. Never out of the exacta in five career starts, there’s the potential for a promising future if he can get some confidence out of a win today.
Leg 4 – Race 4 (1,4,5,6) – A short field of Cal-bred juveniles in the I’m Smokin Stakes and we’ll use all but two runners with No. 1 Life a Riley, No. 4 Strong Wind, No. 5 Ballard Ruler and No. 6 The Humancomplaint.
Leg 5 – Race 5 (2,3,4,5,7,8) – Consecutive Cal-bred juvenile sprints this time for maidens and we spread bigger with No. 2 Tiz a Minister, No. 3 U’narack, No. 4 Real Heat, No. 5 Gervinho, No. 7 Star Rocker and No. 8 Chico Suerte.
Recap – (2,3,6) w (4,8,10,11) w (2) w (1,4,5,6) w (2,3,4,5,7,8) – Total cost of ticket = $144
Yesterday’s Result – (-$250)
Total for current Del Mar meet – (+$15,650.10)
Total from 7/20/11 – 7/15/12 – (+$1,874.55)
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Good luck!
