Thursday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Gulfstream’s $28,543 Super High 5 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Thursday, Jan. 8 at Santa Anita, along with tickets for the $28,543 Super High 5 carryover at Gulfstream Park.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• 2 for $2,000 Exacta Hit It and Split It at Turfway Park: Hit two exactas at Turfway Park for a chance to split a $2,000 prize pool each Thursday in January.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $50 Fair Grounds Challenge
• $200 Fair Grounds Feeder to 1/10 Fair Grounds/Tampa Bay Downs KDBC/NHC Qualifier
• $50 Turfway Park Challenge
• $120 Turfway Park Feeder to 1/17 Lecomte KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Santa Anita: Race 3: Eddie Logan S. (one mile on turf, 4:06 p.m. ET)

#2 Stark Contrast (7-5) has been a force to reckon with racing one mile on turf. After breaking his maiden and following up with a win in the Zuma Beach (G3), he finished second against international competition in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), beaten only three-quarters of a length.

Dropping in class for the Eddie Logan should make Stark Contrast tough to beat. Let’s key him over the Grade 1-placed #5 Plutarch (2-1) in a cold exacta. 

Selections

• #2 Stark Contrast (8-5)
• #5 Plutarch (2-1)
• #7 Third Beer (10-1)

Wagers

• $25 Exacta: 2 with 5

Santa Anita: Race 4: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 4:37 p.m. ET)

Unraced three-year-old #5 Red Cherry (8-1) has the pedigree to win from an early age. Her dam, Harbor Mist, won the Anne M. Clare S. at age two and previously foaled Crazy Hot, winner of the Generation Portion S. as a juvenile.

Red Cherry has put together a promising work tab highlighted by a bullet five furlongs in 1:00 3/5. She’s trained by John Sadler (a respectable 15% winner with horses debuting in maiden special weights), so let’s bet Red Cherry to win and play her in an exacta with first-time starter #10 French Blue (5-2).

Selections

• #5 Red Cherry (8-1)
• #10 French Blue (5-2)
• #9 Cherry Cider (4-1)

Wagers

• $16 to win on #5 Red Cherry
• $7 Exacta: 10 with 5
• $2 Exacta: 5 with 10
  Total: $25

Santa Anita: Race 6: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 5:40 p.m. ET)

#9 Tommy Norris (5-2) has knocked heads with several next-out winners while sprinting over this class level. Three starts back, he ran third in a 5 1/2-furlong dash to Ocean Bear, who subsequently won an allowance and the Golden State Juvenile S.

If you draw a line through Tommy Norris’ recent defeat racing one mile in the King Glorious S., his form is hard to knock. Dropping back down in class and distance can send him to the winner’s circle, so we’ll bet Tommy Norris to win.

Selections

• #9 Tommy Norris (5-2)
• #6 Joker Went Wild (4-1)
• #10 Red Hot (7-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #9 Tommy Norris

Carryover Watch

Gulfstream Park: Race 10: $28,543 Super High 5 carryover (4:55 p.m. ET)

If you can select the top five finishers, in order, in Thursday’s final race at Gulfstream Park, you can win a share of a non-jackpot $28,543 carryover in the $1 Super High 5.

Race 10 is a $75,000 allowance optional claimer for three-year-old fillies dashing five furlongs on turf. An 11-horse field has turned out, and sorting through the contenders isn’t easy. But we’ll give it a shot with four tickets costing less than $100 in total:

Wagers

• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 1,4 with 1,4 with 5,6,7 with 2,3,5,6,7 ($24)
• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 1,4 with 5,6,7 with 1,4 with 2,3,5,6,7 ($24)
• $1 Super High 5: 8 with 1,4 with 5,6,7 with 2,3,5,6,7 with 1,4 ($24)
• $1 Super High 5: 1,4 with 8 with 1,4 with 5,6,7 with 2,3,5,6,7 ($24)
  Total: $96

#1 Catalonia (5-2) is the morning-line favorite. Last summer over the Gulfstream grass, she wired a five-furlong maiden special weight by 6 1/4 lengths. But her form has deteriorated since then, and she exits a ninth-place finish in the Stewart Manor S. at Aqueduct. She may rebound while returning to Gulfstream and adding Lasix, but it’s hard to trust her completely.

#4 Nonna’s Love (3-1) is a logical alternative. Her lone grass start produced a three-length win in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Aqueduct in June. But she hasn’t run since, and her career-best 77 Brisnet Speed rating looks a bit light against Thursday’s field.

As a result, #8 Pulstar (6-1) must be considered as a win contender at enticing odds. Under the care of hot trainer Wesley Ward (who has gone 3-for-5, 60% at Gulfstream since Nov. 1), Pulstar impressed when ending a layoff in a five-furlong $75,000 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream last month. She set the pace and drew away late to win by 3 1/4 lengths, earning an 85 Brisnet Speed rating only one point lower than Catalonia’s best number.

We’ll build our tickets around Catalonia, Nonna’s Love, and Pulstar. We’ll count on Pulstar to finish either first or second, and on Catalonia and Nonna’s Love to crack the top five.

Good luck!