Pick- 6 Preview: Santa Anita $113,777 Carryover – February 21, 2013
A field of nine Californa-breds will line up to kick off the pick-6 with Troy Story the 5-2 morning line favorite. Troy Story will be making his 16th career start and in his only other attempt down the hill he was second, beaten just over a length. Kilat and Celebrity Status exit the same race last month, which had been originally scheduled for the turf. Empty Headed also ran in that race and then finished fourth in a mile race two weeks ago. He may be overlooked in the wagering, but could offer some value. L’Dor Vador has been working well for his debut although runners from the Puype barn generally need a race or two.
Race four is a maiden claimer at six furlongs on the main track with seven of the eight runners between 2-1 and 8-1 on the morning line. Tribal Sky is the filly to beat, but Southern Journey looks to be a must use. The daughter of Good Journey runs for a 22% debut trainer and picks up Rafael Bejarano in the irons. Rockin Cowgirl drops from a maiden special weight, the biggest class drop in the game.
Bright Thought wired the field in the Super Bowl Party Stakes and could get another easy lead in race five. He should be out there winging on his own looking to get the jump on McAllister Boys, Toruk Makto and Saint Loup.
Royal Tiger looks tough to beat in race six, dropping from an allowance race into this starter allowance. Gary Stevens takes over for Rafael Bejarano, who will be aboard Spacecoast, a recent eight-length maiden winner. There is plenty of speed in the race to set it up for Royal Tiger, but the six-year-old mare is winless since December 2010 and is zero-for-four at Santa Anita. Scary Ride is the speed of the speed.
Back on the turf for race seven with starter allowance horses going a flat mile. Square Dance makes his first So Cal start after three starts in south Florida. The three-year-old colt just broke his maiden impressively on the turf at Gulfstream Park and lures the services of Garrett Gomez. Single? Perphaps, but Dancin Upside Down and I Don’t Care Who may upset the party. Aerial Artist is a long shot play as a closer in a race that came up with plenty of early speed.
The finale is one of the traditional finales at Santa Anita, a low level maiden claimer at five and one-half furlongs. The race is a mess so it’s either take a stand and single or use as many as the budget allows. Contenders, from the rail, are Mayan Eyes, Teton County, Green Team, Unmarked Bills, Banged His Eye, Hi Chooch and Three Buttons Down. That is seven of the 12 runners.
Certainly not an easy pick-6 for a Thursday, but with contention running deep, it could be a very lucrative one.
First post on Thursday is 4:00 ET with race three scheduled to break from the gate at 5:00.