Pick 6 Preview: Del Mar - $261,359 Carryover, July 31, 2013

photo: Matt Carter

When racing resumes on Wednesday at Del Mar a carryover of just over $260,000 will await bettors. The wager covers races three through eight and the sequence looks a bit tricky.

Starter allowance horses kick off the pick-6 going one mile on the main Polytrack. Spring Up is likely to be on all tickets making his first start for trainer John Sadler after being claimed by $20,000 on opening day. Sadler hits at 38% of his first-claim horses at Del Mar, but only has one win going sprint to route. Spring Up is likely to find company on the front end with Awesome Address, the recent maiden winner at Hollywood Park. A fast pace helps Magnum Force and Solid South, two Marty Jones horses that caught the in-form Soi Phet last month at Hollywood Park.

Bill Spawr is a great trainer and one angle that he excels with the most is first off-the-claim, which is what we get with Hurry Home Clever in race four. Spawr likely claimed the son of Bellamy Road with ideas of Wednesday’s race. The best start of Hurry Home Clever’s career? A one-mile race at Del Mar, the exact conditions of this race. Other contenders for the win include Prime Number, Almost Better and Jay’s Firetruck.

Volkonsky looks like the horse to get the job done in race five, a maiden special weight race around two turns on the turf. The Old English Rancho-bred gelding has slowly been getting better in his three starts and Wednesday looks to be graduation day. Red Globe finished third behind a next out winner while Little Professor makes his second career start after splitting the field in his debut. The trainer of Little Professor, Mike Machowsky, doesn’t win with a lot of his second-time-starters, but this gelding could be the exception. Brave Act is the pace of the race and will take them as far as he can go.

Race six is a head scratcher because on a track that has played well towards speed, this race doesn’t have one true front-runner. Indian Classic has made the pace in one of his six career starts, but his only win came from off the pace and on conventional dirt at Santa Anita. Ballard Ruler won his debut at Del Mar, but has not run since mid-November. His July 25 work over the surface, on paper, looks good and he is a must use. Gregor had some pace runs in New Mexico and with the five-pound apprentice on his back he could make some noise early.

Race seven is the Graduation Stakes for Cal-bred or sired two-year-olds and we will dive more into that in tomorrow’s blog. It’s an interesting renewal of the five and one-half furlong race.

The finale is a maiden $20,000 claiming race for fillies and mares going six and one-half furlongs on the main track. Athina Lee has not run since June 2012, but comes back for Peter Miller with blinkers on and the biggest class drop in the game, special weight to maiden claiming. It looks to be time for the English Channel filly to score and perhaps give one player the whole pick-6 pool. Margies Rule fits as does Party Bus, Huera Bonita and Tap Tap Ur It. If Athina Lee is ready to roll; however, the others will be running for second.

First post on Wednesday at Del Mar is 5:05 pm ET with race three scheduled to break from the gate at 6:09.