By Matt Dinerman
10 races on the card at Golden Gate Fields, with a $28,977 carryover in The Late Pick 5 (Races 6-10)! Track officials project at least $120,000 new money will be added into the Late Pick 5 today. We’ll go through each race, with my ticket displayed at the end of the write up. It’s a solid sequence with good quality fields and a competitive feel. Let’s get to it!
Race 6 (The Campanile Stakes for Cal-bred 3 YO fillies): #4 PULPIT RIDER (1-1- ML) will be a single on many tickets. She comes off a fourth place finish in The Providencia (G3), finishing right behind El Camino Real Derby winner PAVED. Her last win came two starts ago, when she was a decisive winner of The California Oaks. Expect her to stalk the pace with jockey Corey Nakatani, who flies up to ride both stakes’ today. We’re singling PULPIT RIDER and crossing our fingers.
Race 7 (Maiden Special Weight for 3-year-olds): #4 AUTUMN DAY (1-1) is the one to fear most. He has made two afternoon appearances, with both efforts resulting in runner-up finishes to DADDYSPRIZE and J T’s A. T. M; the aforementioned winners are racing in The Silky Sullivan Stakes later on today. We’ll use AUTUMN DAY on the ticket as well as longshot #5 SNOW FEATHER (10-1), who blew the break and lost all chance in his career debut. After the bad start, he was far back for most of the race but made up a good amount of ground down the lane to finish in mid division in a large field. He had been working quickly in preparation for the debut and now adds blinkers while sporting a sharp gate work since the poor getaway in lifetime start #1.
Race 8 (Silky Sullivan Stakes for Cal-bred 3 YO): #4 NIGHT AT THE OPERA (6-1) adds blinkers after an above-average second place finish against open allowance company. His two career route efforts have been sneaky good. First time routing, he lost to stakes caliber colt RESPECT THE HUSTLE in The Oak Tree Juvenile and came back one month later to finish four lengths behind RESPECT THE HUSTLE, El Camino Real Derby runner up CITY PLAN and Grade 3 placed colt AYACARA in The Gold Rush Stakes. Along with ‘OPERA, we’re also using So-Cal shipper #1 CONO (3-1), with C-Nak in the irons, and #7 AIGLE (9-2), a son of Unusual Heat who comes off a gate to wire maiden score in his career debut. He raced a mile and a sixteenth that day and cuts back a sixteenth of a mile for his first try against winners.
Race 9 (Allowance for older colts and geldings): #7 FORCE (3-1) makes his 2018 debut after a second place finish in The Berkeley Handicap (G3) last fall. The pace is projected to be fast and contentious, so expect this guy to get a good trip sitting off the speed. FORCE has plenty of back class; along with the Berkeley Handicap placing, he won The Rolling Green Stakes and hit the wire first in a pair of allowance races last year. #6 CONQUEST COBRA (9-5) makes his second start off a year vacation and is a must-use. He ran a very good second to the Bob Baffert trained TEN BLESSINGS in his first start off the break, and ran third in The Grade I Triple Bend before the long layoff. Even though both aforementioned efforts came going one-turn, he has run competitively when routing against tough company. Dangerous with his best race.
Race 10 (Cal-bred allowance for older colts and geldings): #1 SOUTHERN THUNDER was an easy winner at the starter allowance level last time; that was his first try going long on the turf, which is what he’ll be doing today. We’re expecting him to get a good, stalking trip while saving ground from the rail. He’s trained by William E. Morey, who also saddles #3 BOUNTIFUL DESERT (9-2), a class dropper who finished second in an open allowance race in his most recent start. #4 WE’RE JUST SAYIN (6-1) has open allowance experience, as well, and freshens up for this run. The last time he routed on the turf, he won a starter allowance for fun. We’re going three deep with that trio of runners to end the sequence.
THE TICKET:
50-Cent Late Pick 5 ($27)
R6: 4
R7: 4,5,6
R8: 1,4,7
R9: 6,7
R10: 1,3,4
GOOD LUCK!!!