Picks: Santa Anita’s $45,807 Pick 6, Churchill Downs tournaments

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to play in a Pick 6 carryover at Santa Anita and a pair of tournaments at Churchill Downs.

Santa Anita: $45,807 Pick 6 carryover

The Sunday card at Santa Anita is highlighted by a $45,807 carryover in the $2 Pick 6. The final pool is expected to reach the $500,000 range.

The Pick 6 gets underway in Race 5 (post time 6:08 p.m. ET), and bettors seeking a single to build tickets around should check out #4 Whatmakessammyrun (3-1) in Race 6, a $32,000 starter optional claimer taking place over 6 1/2 furlongs on turf.

Whatmakessammyrun has been in hot form since being claimed by trainer Mark Glatt last fall. Five starts over the Santa Anita turf have yielded three wins in $32,000 and $25,000 claimers, as well as a rallying third-place finish (beaten only three-quarters of a length) in a $32,000 starter optional claimer. Whatmakesammyrun’s only misfire came when finishing fifth in a tougher $80,000 allowance optional claimer sprinting about 6 1/2 furlongs over Santa Anita’s downhill turf course.

Whatmakessammyrun does his best work over Santa Anita’s primary turf course and looks like a great fit for Sunday’s field, especially since favored #6 Sharp Aza Tack (5-2) ran well below his best when returning from a 13-month layoff last time out. Under jockey Antonio Fresu (a 30% winner teaming up with Glatt over the last two months), Whatmakessammyrun is a compelling choice to win the second leg of the Pick 6.

$70 Churchill Downs Challenge tournament
$400 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier tournament

Two TwinSpires tournaments involving Churchill Downs are available to play on Sunday. The $70 Churchill Downs Challenge awards cash prizes and requires betting your entire $50 bankroll across at least five races at Churchill Downs.

The $400 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier has the same requirement, except the size of your bankroll is $200 and you must wager at least $20 in a given race in order for it to count as one of the five races.

We suggest tournament players focus some of their bankroll on Race 7, an $80,000 allowance optional claimer for fillies and mares racing 1 1/8 miles over the main track. Two contenders are appealing: #3 Sudden Switch (5-2), whose 2-for-2 record includes a 4 1/2-length allowance win at Keeneland last month, and #6 Impel (3-1), who placed in the Ashland (G1), Eight Belles (G2), and Indiana Oaks (G3) last year.

Of the pair, we prefer Sudden Switch, who showed sharp pacesetting speed in her Keeneland triumph. The distant third-place finisher, Save Time, flattered the form by returning to win a Churchill Downs allowance.

We suggest betting Sudden Switch to win and keying her over Impel in the exacta.

• Race 7: $15 to win on #3 Sudden Switch
• Race 7: $5 Exacta: 3 with 6
  Total: $20

Good luck!