ARCADIA, Calif. – The early pick five Friday at Santa Anita offers appeal for two groups of bettors – those aiming for a modest score, and those who appreciate maiden races.
The 14 percent takeout, 50-cent pick five covers races 1 through 5. Four of the races are for maidens, including three maiden special weights, with a likely winner in the opening leg and a well-meant debut runner in the finale. Both are potential singles.
The median pick five payoff this winter is $750. The median on Fridays, when fields are smaller, is $500. This Friday, a bettor might aim for a low-range payoff with a low-cost ticket. The sequence begins with a reliable favorite.
Race 1: Fancy Lady, who was best in her runner-up debut, is likely to win this six-furlong turf sprint for maiden fillies and mares. First time out, she checked early and lost position, uncorked an extended rally, and missed by a head. The winner, Surfin U. S. A., won an allowance next out. Two also-rans also returned to win.
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“She’s come back and trained well, look to go a little bit better [Friday],” trainer Michael McCarthy said. Fancy Lady, listed at 9-5, looks like a low-odds single.
Race 2: California-bred maiden 3-year-olds race for a $50,000 tag, with three main contenders. Ottis Betts finished third with trouble last out and was claimed. Hungover finished second in his debut at the level. Shady Gem is a class-dropping first-time gelding with speed. A small ticket may include just those three.
Race 3: Let’s Be Frank is the class of this maiden turf mile, which is open to 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds. Let’s Be Frank, runner-up in a Grade 2 last fall at Aqueduct prior to finishing 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is making his first start for McCarthy.
“He’s trained well, he’s been ready to run for a few weeks,” McCarthy said. “Wish it was against straight 3-year-olds. He’s ready to get started.”
Stretch-outs Call Me Cory and One More Time provide pace for Let’s Be Frank to run at.
The turf rails are at the outermost 30-foot setting Friday. Eight of the last 10 turf miles with the rails at 30 were won from the middle or back of the field. Let’s Be Frank, a closer, is a deserving favorite, but Call Me Cory and One More Time have turf form and/or turf potential. Three-deep?
Race 4: Smoovin Saturday is the best horse in this allowance/optional-claiming dirt mile for California-bred 3-year-olds. But the four-start colt is entered for a $50,000 claim tag only three starts after winning the $101,000 King Glorious Stakes at Los Alamitos.
The placement is curious. Smoovin Saturday could win as the favorite, but sprinter Southern Melodee and turf-route maiden winner Scatalotadingdong have upset chances. Three-deep includes the favorite and the upset candidates.
Race 5: Confidentiality could start lower than her 4-1 morning-line odds. The debut filly has trained exceptionally well, including a 58 flat team drill on March 2. Her workmate, stablemate Tap the Gin, won his debut on Sunday.
Mark Glatt trains Confidentiality. “She’s pretty forward, and she’s not slow,” he said.
Confidentiality breaks from the outside post as a pick-five single.
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