DEL MAR, Calif. – The pick six looks straightforward Saturday at Del Mar, partly based on the assumption Nevada Beach will run as expected in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes.
A pick six carryover of $51,879 is up for grabs when Del Mar resumes racing after the Friday card was canceled because of rain. All nine races Saturday are on dirt, including the 1 1/8-mile Native Diver, in which Nevada Beach is the 3-5 program favorite.
The only stakes winner in the five-runner field, Nevada Beach won the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes this fall at Santa Anita and finished seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.
“Came out of race well, and [the Native Diver] comes up perfect for him,” trainer Bob Baffert said via text. “Don’t want to ship out of town.”
Nevada Beach’s rivals on Saturday include stakes-placed second choice Indispensable and outsiders Westwood, British Isles, and Clouseau. The Native Diver is the penultimate race on a card with legit favorites in the final three races. The pick six is on races 4-9.
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Christel Clean, troubled runner-up last out, figures to win race 7, an allowance sprint for California-bred fillies and mares. Nevada Beach runs in race 8, and highly rated debut runner-up Blacksmith is favored in race 9 for maiden 2-year-olds. The standouts will lower ticket costs for budget-minded pick six bettors but also reduce the chance for a generous payoff.
Nevada Beach is among the most heavily favored runners Saturday. He won the Los Alamitos Derby in his third start in June, was off three months, and returned in September as an improved colt. He won the Goodwood with a 101 Beyer Speed Figure, then dove into the deep end.
Although he lost the BC Classic by nearly 12 lengths, Nevada Beach was hardly disgraced. He was stalled in traffic on the far turn, lost momentum, and finished evenly. It was a lot to ask for a colt making just the fifth start of his career. Juan Hernandez regains the mount on Nevada Beach.
Horse-for-course Indispensable returns to Del Mar after a respectable third in the Grade 3 Ack Ack at Churchill Downs. John Sadler trains the 4-year-old, whose two wins have come at Del Mar. Hector Berrios rides Indispensable.
Westwood has speed to set or press the pace. British Isles is a turf horse racing on dirt. Clouseau has won eight races, mostly claiming or California-bred. Although favorites have won only one of the last six editions of the Native Diver, Nevada Beach looks solid.
While the final three pick six races look easy, the first three are less so. Last-out runner-up Tupelo is the most likely winner of the first leg, race 4, a $20,000 maiden-claiming sprint. Tupelo must overcome the rail post; comebacker Aloha Dreamin’ is her main rival.
Race 5 is a sprint for California-bred $12,500 maiden-claiming fillies and mares, including Dixie’s Delight and Amelia’s Echo. Race 6 is a restricted claiming sprint for fillies and mares led by Headstrong Ways. If she stays seven furlongs, she could be gone.
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