Air Lakerville can establish himself as a serious contender for the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Grade I) if he can win the $85,000 Green Flash Handicap.
Massive carryovers that should lead to combined Pick-5 and Pick-6 pools that clear the $4 million mark means lots of green is up for grabs along with the featured $85,000 Green Flash Handicap sprinting five furlongs on the turf.
Today’s hysteria is the result of a 42-to-1 shot closing the Pick-5 sequence on Sunday, which caused a carryover of $362,503, followed by a 46-to-1 bomber that knocked everyone out of the Pick-6 with three races left in the sequence and produced a carryover of $240,680.
The top two choices in the Green Flash are by far the most unseasoned pair in the field, with 8-to-5 favorite Lakerville looking for his fifth win from six career starts and 9-to-5 second choice Koast in search of his fourth win in start number eight.
The remaining five runners have combined for 17 wins from 87 starts.
Lakerville makes his stakes debut as the 119-lb. high weight and can become the first three-time winner at the meet after a pair of eye-catching rallies from off the pace over this turf sprint layout. The only blemish on the resume of the 4-year-old son of Unusual Heat is a runner-up finish beaten half a length at Hollywood Park on June 24 when making his first start in seven months.
The apparent lack of early speed could mean Koast reverts back to his front-running tactics after coming from off the pace in his last two. The 3-year-old Lawyer Ron colt stretched out for the first time in the Oceanside on opening day and rallied to finish third after previously scoring three wins from a quartet of turf sprints.
Shipping in from Louisiana, 15-to-1 long shot Royal Production appears out-classed, but could find himself alone on the lead. The 5-year-old son of Run Production has just one win to show for ten starts in turf sprints, but he has finished in the money six other times and the last time he was unchallenged on the front end resulted in a 101 Beyer and a 5 ¼-length romping score.
Making his second start for Jeff Mullins, 6-to-1 Sirocco Strike is also a contender with a pair of wins and four in the money finishes from six turf sprints. The 5-year-old son of Forestry has knocked heads with some of the top sprinters in California over the past two years and is back to his preferred surface on the lawn for just the second time in his last six starts.
We’re off to the races!
Pick 4 -
Leg 1 – Race 5 (3,4,5) – No. 3 Demure Halo has been consistent since three bad starts to begin her career as a 2-year-old and won her last try on Polytrack at Keeneland.
No. 4 Inner Grove gets an aggressive class hike off the claim and retains the services of Rafael Bejarano off a local win three weeks ago.
No. 5 Dilly’s Dancer has run well over Polytrack at three different tracks and fits with this bunch.
Leg 2 – Race 6 (2,8,9) - No. 8 Lia Juliana makes her second career start, a situation where Ron Ellis wins 38% of the time. The addition of blinkers and move to hustling jock Edwin Maldanado signifies the intent to be more forwardly placed in a race void of much early lick.
No. 9 We Be Good also goes to post for the second time in her career and can be forwardly placed, while No. 2 Warren’s Today drops from allowance company off the long layoff and reunites with Bejarano.
Leg 3 – Race 7 (3,5,6,7) – Use the four discussed above with No. 3 Sirocco Strike, No. 5 Lakerville, No. 6 Royal Production and No. 7 Koast.
Leg 4 – Race 8 (1,3,4,6,7,8,9,10) – Eight bottom-level maiden claimers to close the day with No. 1 Hey Paulie, No. 3 Ever Alert, No. 4 A Day Away, No. 6 Our Merv, No. 7 Sedona Ridge, No. 8 Givimaway, No. 9 Nearly Was Mine and No. 10 Pork Chop.
Recap – (3,4,5) w (2,8,9) w (3,5,6,7) w (1,3,4,6,7,8,9,10) – Total cost of ticket = $144
Sunday’s Result – (-$150)
Total for current Del Mar meet – (+$501.95)
Total from 12/26/10 – 7/15/12 – (-$1,571.15)
Pick 5 –
Leg 1 – Race 1 (1,4,6,7) – No. 1 Slammer Time gets a key barn switch and even more importantly a big drop in class and can rally late with Garrett Gomez aboard.
Spread with the trio of No. 4 Deadly Catch, No. 6 Muny and No. 7 Aqua Fever.
Leg 2 – Race 2 (2,8,11,12,13) – No. 12 Tina’s Express can give Jorge Gutierrez his first win of the meet with her claiming tag cut in half after splitting a 12-horse field in her last.
No. 11 Silver Luna has 19 defeats and is a tough favorite to support especially with a super spotty work tab off the layoff, but her 11 underneath finishes force us to include her.
No. 13 Frank n’ Teddy draws in for the potent Peter Miller and can make an impact if she doesn’t break outward from the outside
No. 8 Oscillator fired a pair of bullets in average manner at Hollywood Park ahead of his debut and Jorge Periban and Juan Hernandez are a perfect 3-for-3 together.
Finally, No. 2 Racy Rosa drops to the bottom off an especially long layoff and moves to a low percentage barn, but did finish as the runner-up in her debut over two years ago.
Leg 3 – Race 3 (1,5) – A short field of six that is not easy to separate where we look to No. 5 First Strike as the top pick after just missing to a solid Bob Baffert runner in his last. He stretches out with a seven-furlong work over this strip looking to make it a perfect 2-for-2 over Polytrack.
He’ll be trying to run down another Baffert runner, with No. 1 Hoorayforhollywood trying for a wire job after just getting run down in his last.
Leg 4 – Race 4 (3,4,5) – No. 4 Shining Copper is one of the few with experience and the only with a try over turf, which makes him the one to beat in this maiden allowance on turf where all ten runners try two turns for the first time.
No. 3 Power Broker stretches out after a disappointing debut effort at odds-on for Baffert and No. 5 Cinco de Mario deserves another chance after two solid works since a debacle in his second career start.
Leg 5 – Race 5 (3,4,5) – Same trio as Pick-4.
Recap – (1,4,6,7) w (2,8,11,12,13) w (1,5) w (3,4,5) w (3,4,5) – Total cost of ticket = $180
Sunday’s Result – (-$180)
Total for current Del Mar meet – (+$16,226.45)
Total from 7/20/11 – 7/15/12 – (+$1,874.55)
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Good luck!
