SoCal Saturday 6/14/25 | Santa Anita Park

All right, kids, you know what time it is.

Gather round. It's time for another edition of

Socal Saturday Hanging out with Barry Spears.

My name's Louie Romo. We are underground right now,

Barry, avoiding whatever these bleaky storms are around the

Midwest this time of year. So your boys are hiding out.

Barry, of course, famously on the on the feed a couple weeks

ago, last week, actually right before the Belmont show just

lost power. Shout out to our guy Ken hanging

out today. We appreciate him joining us

here on the program. You're welcome to comment

anywhere that you want. We'll be walking through the

pool card on Saturday there at Santa Anita Park.

Closing weekend, Barry, for the spring as we get ready to move

down the street to Cyprus. You know the only good part

about that because look, the views different, all the things.

Whatever. We get more Lowe's ponies,

though, what? And if we can get more Jose

Contreras online, That's it. That's the play.

That's what we all need. Sarge.

Sorry. Your second fiddle there.

We need more Lowe's ponies. This just is.

It is what it is. I'm down with that except for

the the team no cheese part. I'm team Cheese, but I don't

really eat tacos so I get a lot of Flack for that.

In general, whoa, whoa, whoa, you can't drop that on South

Cal. Saturday Sorry but but I I I

have been offered by Lowe's ponies and others to come out to

LA and try. Very clear on this program and

others. We need to do an exchange where

go Jose joins me and and Rachel and all the good people at

Horseshoe Indianapolis for one of their Quarter horse

Saturdays, right? Just bring get them up there.

And then we just crush every Taco truck we can find in

Indianapolis. And all he does is poop on how

bad the tacos are in Indiana. Like that's what I need.

I need that in my life today, Jose, get it done.

I need that stuff in my life. And then we force Rachel to go

work at night at Los Altos just some Saturday, some random like,

you know, nickel claimers and stuff like that.

That's what we need. We just we need.

That's a good idea. That's a great idea, actually.

But then Jose has to cook for all of us.

That's really just what happens. That's really what I.

Yeah. And I get to meet Michael like,

you know, all the all the stuff. Yeah, right.

All the stuff. Great.

But, yeah, say I need a couple more days of racing there before

we do move to the LA County meet, which happens at Los

Alamitos. Of course, we'll move on to Del

Mar after that. But it's been a fun meeting.

Barry and I was down at, you know, we have our meeting every

Wednesday with the folks at Blood Horse for another project

that I work on. And I was talking with Peter

Deck who does a bunch of razor recaps that ever worked on

there. I said one of the great things

that's happened is we've watched these Northern California

restricted races become part of the fabric of these cards,

obviously in Race 11 today. But I'm sure you noticed as

well, man. And this is an interesting thing

to watch moving forward. Race 2 is an allowance race for

$31,000. It's almost the identical to

what they were running at Golden Gate Field.

So we're seeing now these horses aren't just coming down for the

claimers, they're actually working themselves into

allowance company. And look, 12 races on a

Saturday, man. If we can keep getting these

kinds of cards and look in that race alone, you know, in race 2

you've got 7 horses and then in race 11, it's a huge field with

an also eligible on the list. So I mean, I'm really hopeful

that they can keep that going, man.

Yeah, I was talking about this with Gina Bicola yesterday.

You know how these horses have integrated into the circuit.

You know, people had a lot of questions about how that was

going to happen. And you know, they they've

really done a good job of integrating these horses,

getting those races set up in the beginning.

Now everybody kind of knows where they fit in the whole

landscape. And and those horses, the good

ones have have become effective at other levels.

So it's really good to see, you know, those big fields in those

races in particular are very, very good and challenging

betting races is really what does it for me.

I mean, frankly, we've start, we've now been doing this show

for about 5 months. I think this Daytona is about as

fun a field as we've seen. So really, really good card on a

Saturday. Obviously force payouts on

everything on Sunday. So be watching all the great

stuff happening at Santa Anita this weekend.

Really appreciate getting to do this show with our friends at

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Certainly Barry. We open with race one.

They're at Santa Anita on Saturday.

This is a claiming race on turf course. 6 furlongs there,

$25,000 claimer 26,000 in the purse here.

You and I disagree on top. We do both have the two and the

six in our handicapping, but you landed on Fleet Feet on top.

Yeah, I I think this is a field that Fleet Feet can handle

dropping down as far as this horse has ever been.

But to be honest, this is probably where this horse needed

to be all along. I mean, they kind of rushed this

horse into some stakes early even before this horse broke the

maiden. But this work that Fleet Feet

has done on the turf is good enough to beat these pretty

easily, I think. OK, you landed on 2 on top.

I landed 6 on top here. I think the other obvious choice

here in Gazon, Hector Berrios, gets them out again.

This one not great last out, but that was at the optional 50

level. We get to drop back into a level

I think fits this horse a lot better, having broken its maiden

2 back this gelding at the $50,000 level.

I think if the horse can run that race against Barry, he's

going to be right there and absolutely have something to say

at the end of it. I have the three in my

handicapping. You do not.

And this is Captain's Sparrow, This is Mark Glad and Antonio

Fresu combining together who have hit it 28% in this meeting

at at Santa Anita. Put in a bullet the other day

working from the gate at 5 furlongs as well, Barry.

So I'm just hopeful that this one who's going back to the turf

for the first time in a long time will like it 22% in turf

sprints is Mark Glad. He does go at 17% switching

services from dirt to turf as well.

So I think Captain Sparrow won to use in race one as well.

But you like the seven in here in your second spot.

Yeah, Hawker is is more of a known commodity than the others.

I mean, between the three, Captain Sparrow and Gazon, who

are just recent maiden Breakers, there's there's a possibility

that a, Captain Sparrow doesn't even like the turf at all and B,

his own just got a really perfect trip in that one win.

So that being said, Hawker's kind of the best of the rest and

as a little bit of a known quantity as far as you know how

his running is and how he's going to run, he's probably

going to come from way back, but should be flying here.

Late. The word gazon, by the way,

means turf because anybody was wondering what the French was

happening today. Gasol is a version of the word

turf there in French. So there you go.

You can, you can always learn something on Socal Saturdays.

You understand me. You understand me, Kevin hanging

out with us and learning things. We'll go to Race 2 now.

This is the restricted allowance that we talked about going 6

furlongs on the dirt, $31,000 in the purse here.

And this is for restricted Phillies and Mares 3 and up that

were at least based in Northern California since January 1st of

last year and have never won two races.

So we get an on to Lifer at this level at least, Barry.

We do see a bunch of horses that have won multiple races here.

You and I both have the five in our top in our top three, but

after that are pretty different. I'll go first here, Barry.

The five on top for me in Happy SU 5 to 1.

Ocio Espinosa gets the ride for OJ Jargi here.

And this one last out I thought looked really good coming off

the bench couple of months off after a maiden optional winner

at at Santa Anita over the six furlongs.

Comes back at the six furlongs, finishes second to Cash Cal.

I think the horse just didn't have it that day, but we're

again back to second in the form cycle.

Last time we saw that this horse did break its maiden.

I think this level makes sense. Never been worse than second in

two runs at the distance as well.

Very slightly landed on the five who I know you have later in

your handicapping, but you like the four here in border control

a little bit more. Yeah, I'd love horses that come

off a decent layoff from their two year old to their three OD a

year and improve speed figures. It means that they they've

improved themselves and will improve on the track.

I get a lot of winners this way at decent prices.

So border Control actually fits that that bill, as you know in

this race and also in current events.

Well, let's play. There you go.

Yeah, there you go. Happy Sue seems to seems to be

like the most logical horse in this race will will be the speed

of the speed and really as far as she wants to take him.

I I thought Volosius the two would give her some trouble

maybe thirsty trickster to to lessen her her speed up front

which opens it up for a horse like I like in border control.

Yeah, I, I think velocious is interesting here.

It's interesting you went back to that.

Not a great angle for OJ Draghi to get second off the layoff

here. Kazushi Kamara does get the

mount, though. And this is a horse switching

back from dirt, excuse me, from turf to dirt, which Target does

at 30%. Man, this is a very, very good

angle for him. And so I do think this is a

horse in its last nine runs that has finished in the top 26

times. So we're talking about a horse

that's very, very competitive. This son, excuse me, daughter of

Golden Cents in this spot. I think she's interesting.

I went 5-2. I have the one in the third spot

here, Barry and Dori Miller. This is 1 you've left completely

out of your handicapping, but is going to be the likely favorite

coming into this one is switching surfaces as well.

That's a pretty good angle for Leonard Powell.

I think this horse does its best running ironically on turf, even

though it doesn't have any wins. So they're getting back to the

dirt here. I do think it makes sense in

this level of company as well. So I went 521.

I know you think at least a little bit here about the six

horse in Goodnight Nelly. Yeah, I kind of went there over

Dori Miller because of the fact Dori Miller will probably need

like an extreme pace meltdown in order to to kind of get into the

running here. And at 2:00 to 1:00 even on the

morning line it it just seems to be a kind of a stretch.

I like the way that the six came back off of that layoff, you

know, kind of stepped up in in class and and handled it pretty

nicely. And I think there is a step

forward there. So I would use this one in the

mix for sure. The 6th.

Good night, Nelly. We'll move to Race 3 now.

Again, we're presented by Amwager and amwager.com. 100%

deposit match right now up to $150.00 with our friends and

Amwager live in California for all of your horse racing

wagering needs. A $20,000 claimer is on the

board in race three. We're back on the dirt again. 6

1/2 furlongs here. That interesting in between

distance that we see fairly often, Barry, at these races at

Santa Anita Park, $23,000 purse here.

The one and the two are going to be heavy betting favorites.

I landed on the three. You landed on the five here,

Barry. What did you like about?

She's just fluffy. Besides the name, of course.

Yeah, the the name is great, but I think this horse really fits

at this level. You know, it was kind of out of

sorts in the last two before the layoff.

Miani does really well with these type of layoffs gets, you

know, a guy in Tyler Bayes who they they connect with quite a

bit to the tune around 13%. So and and the the races that

this horse she's just fluffy has run in the past definitely fit

here. And also I think the pace

scenario fits a lot better. I know the the buyers and the

speed figures don't really align, but it the equalizer is

the way this pace should shape up and and I think this horse

might be able to get first run on a horse like the one Vegas

love and that might make all the difference.

So many of Queen Gervin's best runs have been at Santa Anita

Park. I'll use this one on top one at

the 16 level, last out at a mile.

We're going to shorten up and go route to Sprint here, which is

not a great route, not a great angle for Ruben Gomez.

But I'm hoping the 6 1/2 Berry is long enough to make a

difference here. And I just really like the price

because I, you know, I have the two in the 1 in the second and

third spots. But Barry, we're talking about a

two horse that hasn't won in multiple years, frankly.

And we're talking about a one horse that's run twice this year

and it's been up the track in $30,000 claim or so.

I'd rather get a price on a horse that has at least seen the

finish line first recently. And so I'll lean on Queen Gervin

here, the three on top. I know you and I both have the

1:00 and 2:00 here, but there's a lot of question marks around

those horses. Yeah, I mean those both the

things you highlighted with the two favorites are, are really

reasons to bet against horses in other spots.

That's why it it's going to be interesting to see how this race

is actually bet because one of those two is not going to be

second choice. So it's just depends on on where

they go. I would think the five would be

the logical third choice or quote UN quote second choice.

But we'll see, because Queen Gervin, you know, intuitively,

would probably be the next best horse because of the fact that

he's stepping up in class rather than coming down.

The horses that are actually dropping in class don't look as

good. Their drops seem a little bit

suspicious in the spot. Definitely to me as well.

We'll move on. There are two Race 4.

This is an allowance 60 thousand $67,000 purse here going a mile

on the turf. This is for three-year old

Phillies. And so we got a shorter field

here of five, but an interesting top end because we get the

return of thought process here. Barry and I wanted to stop and

and talk about this Philly here because this is until the very

end of the stretch. This horse had the lead in the

Breeders Cup Juvenile Philly Turf and I will say this and I

and I went on and on and frankly, Amwager was involved.

I really appreciate them. My single of the weekend was

Lake Victoria. No one was beating Lake Victoria

in that race and she won. We've seen her do that back

then, all that kind of stuff. And so yes, it is its own.

Is it own thing with her? She is obviously very talented.

Phil d'amato's going to bring her along at the right pace.

She won both a Listed Stakes and a graded stakes last year after

breaking her maiden at Del Mar at this distance, 3 for four

lifetime. Look, if she runs her race,

Barry, she's very likely the best in here.

How are you handicapping this one?

And what do you think her toll? What do you think her ceiling

is? Could she be a superstar this

year? She certainly can because she's

fast enough. I I mean, she proved that in in

the Breeders Cup, Juba Phillies turf.

You know, I think with a little more seasoning, she probably

would have been a lot closer to the to the other horses at the

finish rather than being, you know, in 9th place.

By the way, looking back at that field, Barry, just the top three

Lake Victoria, Mayday, Ready and nitrogen.

Holy bleep, man. I'm telling you, this horse had

the lead for all but the last eighth of a mile, maybe 16th of

a mile. She's she was legit legit in the

fall, man. Yeah, and she's going to be

impossible to beat in this spot. I I mean, she lays over this

field 10 times over so so it'll be good to see how she comes

back and what kind of race she runs.

Is she going to be fully cranked or she's just going to barely

get there? That's remains to be seen.

But I I really can't see anybody beating her in this spot and,

you know, may give some indication on how she's going to

be the rest of the year. I'm interested in innovative

here. The other d'amato.

Listen, listen to us. The other d'amato, you know, not

this weekend, it's the other Chad Brown at Santa Anita this

weekend it's the other Phil d'amato.

I'm fascinated by this one. And innovative breaks her maiden

last time going a mile and an eighth gets to shorten back up

where she almost broke her maiden 2 back.

Ricardo Gonzalez keeps them out here and I don't.

They changed the running style quite a bit last time to get

this horse to the lead. Now she broke from the rail, so

she had to go right. It was either that or get stuck.

It was a big field of nine. She's only run against bigger

fields, so this will actually be a bit of size class size relief,

I guess you could call it. But I am really interested in

innovative if she's just happens to be in better form right now,

if thought process just for whatever reason isn't ready to

step back in. Now, I want to be clear, the

works look unbelievable and I think thought process is going

to be totally fine. Can it be innovative that pulls

the upset on Saturday? Because I think this is one of

those spots very especially say early pick 4, early pick 5 of

people are playing those things. If you're going to get a payout

payout, you're going to have to beat a thought process to get a

nice pay. Absolutely.

You know, the only reason I didn't pick innovative for

second here is because of the running style.

You know, it's a real low percentage play for a horse that

just broke the maiden to go against a horse like thought

process. So I figured, you know, they

might want to get competitive with with thought process, even

though they're in the same stable just for this horse to

get the experience and and I figured the three might pick up

the pieces late. Seems like the logical, you

know, second choice here. But yeah, things in this race

are pretty straightforward. Yeah, thought process of course

did win the surfer girl over the mile course there at at Santa

Anita Park. Interesting her and immersive

coming back on the same day. Barry to the the stars of the

two year old fall. Nice to see both of them getting

back on the track and able to compete this weekend.

Of course, immersive in race 5. The Monomoy girl at Churchill

Downs tomorrow Santa Anita Park is race 5.

Now we talk about an optional claimer here at the $20,000

level 6 1/2 furlongs on the dirt there.

And this is for Cal Breads, which have never won blah, blah,

blah, blah, blah and on 2 lifers at higher level.

And this is for a three and up in this spot.

Barry, I'll let you go first here.

We do have an 8 to 5 favorite in the two horse here, but you like

me like the six in here in mining district.

Yeah, I think the experience makes all the difference between

the two horses. You know, obviously the the two

horses is very talented, but we don't really know what we're

getting. We haven't seen this horse since

December 28th. Not saying that this horse is

just going to run a clunk or anything, but you know, as far

as seasoning and, and, and horses with experience, I would

side with a horse that has a little bit more experience that

has been running good at this level and mining District fits

that bill. Mining District will break from

the outside in the 6th. I have that horse second in my

handicapping. I do think the GM, the favorite,

the one with less experience is the favorite here.

Mike Pipe before with Juan Hernandez.

It's an interesting one because this is a horse that's only

going to race it appears. What's every 4-5 months,

something like that, right? It did break its maiden last

time in Cal Bred Company. Go in the distance.

Interested to see if the horse can run it back.

I love the works recently, Barry, especially the June 7th.

The most recent one seems to be the exact kind of pace that

we're going to need for this coming off this kind of layoff.

Piping does hit at 23%, so I think we're sitting in a good

spot using those two in the early part of the sequence.

You like the three in here too, though in Wind Ribbon.

What do you like about Wind Ribbon?

Yeah, I think this horse getting back to this level and distance

makes a lot of sense. You know, went longer last time

at this level and was a terrible experiment.

Before that they went on the turf down the hill and really

didn't do much from that outside post.

But prior to that, this horse is running at this level and being

very, very competitive. In fact, the February 7th race

would win this one easily. So if if this horse can get.

A good run and good position early.

I think this horse might be a little bit tougher and and might

outrun those nine to two odds. The close of the first half of

the card, how about that? Talking about race 6 for the

first half of the card, I like that is the possibly perfect.

It is a stakes race here down the hill at a mile and 1/4.

This is for Phillies and mares 3 and up. 100,000 in the purse

here we see Misses Astor's return.

Kentucky gal is in here, Mahina, who we've also seen in the Santa

Barbara and the Santa Ana, the Megahertz before that, the

Frankel, of course, and in Starry Heavens.

Third race ever in North America, yet to really

breakthrough, but has been close for Phil d'amato and Barry.

I'm looking at your notes here. Sounds like you're going to take

a chance on Starry Heavens. Yeah, absolutely.

I, I think the only way that Mrs. Aster can get beat is if

somebody pops the gate, gets the lead, controls the pace and

holds that one off late. And the only one I can see that

could pull that kind of trip off is Starry heavens.

There's really not much speed in here.

I, I would say Kentucky gal really would ideally not want

the lead. So that leaves starry heavens

and, and I think the source has the ability to do it.

Ran some good races overseas but they just need to to actually

step on the gas and go for it. This starts an interesting

sequence, Barry, because there's a pick four that starts here

with race 6. Obviously a smaller field here

of 6, but then you got a 2 year old state bred Philly race in

the next race with a bunch of unraced and one time first

timer, second timers, that kind of thing.

Full field, you're going to have 10 almost certainly for that

race. Then he got a 32 claimer in

there that's got 7 horses and then another maiden special with

eight horses in it. This just starts a really

interesting part of the card. And so if you're trying to hit

the middle sort of sequence here, this is when you got to

get right and frankly, you got to go pretty skinny on.

I think Misses Astor isn't just the winner here, Barry.

I think this one's kind of boring and I think she ends up

winning it. I I think she ends up just kind

of pulling away and bear the wristfully doesn't have to do

too much at the end of this one. I think she's going to be pretty

comfortable. I'm more interested, frankly, in

Kentucky Gal stepping into this kind of company for Phil

D'amato. I don't think that's an

accidental placement by him. His stakes numbers are

unbelievable wins at 15% just on the form.

There are 265. It's really, really incredible.

And so I I just I think Kentucky gal is the one I would play in

the second spot here. So the old Barry Spears cold

exact the two one for me in the the the possibly perfect.

Do you agree with that about the the pick 4, though?

What a fascinating middle sequence here.

Yeah, you know, I, I tend to stay away from from pick fours

like this that start in this fashion because, you know.

Ideally, yeah. Right.

Ideally you want to get away from a favorite.

So like in this situation I would use the one and the six

and not the two and play a smaller pick four, possibly

using a lot of horses in the 7th.

Yeah, hoping essentially half the money gets dropped in that

Race 6, right? I mean, in that first leg so

that you can have it sitting around waiting.

But the Elite picks the late pick 6 the pick six starts in

Race 7 full field. We mentioned it.

It is the the main special weight state bread 4 Phillies 2

year olds in this spot, 5 furlongs on the dirt.

We're running for $60,000 in this one, Barry, and I'm excited

to see this. I love this time of year,

whether it's at Churchill or Ellis Park or Saratoga or

whatever it might be. Love to see this out West in

California as well. I got to say, it was nice to see

twelve horses in this field. It was nice to just see that

there are still, you know, there's still interest in all

those things. By the way, I think the 12, if

it draws in on the outside for Jorge Parabon, is an absolute

must include. Do not miss that horse if it

happens to draw in, Barry. But I'll let you go first here.

I know you like the 8 at 5:00 to 1:00.

Jeff Bondi. Edwin Maldonado.

Yeah, a lot of these horses don't really have too much

pedigree to go off of, so you kind of have to use your

instincts and and and who you like.

I thought the eight has a lot of nice works coming into this for

a long time since March, and I think that that will help with,

you know, obviously the bottom and having the the foundation to

win a race like this. But I also think Jeff Bondi

handles, you know, his his first time starters a certain.

Way and but he can still get a first time starter ready and

getting Edwin Maldonado is also kind of a tip off that they want

this horse to be up in front early, maybe not on the lead,

but definitely forwardly placed and that's usually the place to

be in races like this. Yeah, I landed on the 12, like I

said, the three second, though, another Jorge Parabond here,

they're throwing the blinkers on.

This is one that went four and a half first out under Armando

Ayuso. made-up some ground a little bit later on, but was

kind of floating around the track, sort of didn't know where

she was. I think she's going to be a lot

better here. This daughter of Stay Thirsty.

That's the Bernardini line out there in California.

I think she's going to be just fine in here, my love, Caroline.

The three, I do think grazing in the grass, the two here is also

interesting. Of course, the daughter, first

time starter here for Tim Yaktine.

Underrated maiden trainer out there out West for Tim Yaktine,

who's already 11 for 86 just this year.

Considerably more starts than he's had in the past and so fun

to see him doing that. Antonio Fraser gets them out

here, 18% between the two of them.

So I think a 1232 kind of combination for me here.

Barry, I know you also think the Sevens got a pretty serious shot

here. In 80s, yeah, 80s bringing me

back. I.

You know, I think this source might have a little bit of

ability. I like that workout on June 2nd.

The 48 flat from the gate. Gateworks fast gateworks all.

Right. Try to reconnect Barry here in

just a minute, but will there you are.

Maybe not all right. Hey Barry, your Internet is

cutting in and out or is it me that's cutting it out on you?

What's which way is it going? I'm.

Not sure actually I'm. Not sure.

OK, very good. Because I didn't even know we

were out. OK, interesting.

All right, so you're talking to yourself, I'm talking to myself.

But we'll go ahead and we will move on, off the maiden race

here to Race 8, which is a $32,000 claimer here as well.

A reminder we're presented I am wager and wager.com make sure to

check them out for their huge deposit match right now, 100% up

to $150.00 for new customers there.

This is a claimer. We're going 6 furlongs on the

flat turf here, Barry. Interesting 1 here landed a a

nice group of seven we see Sharp as attacking here at 2 to one.

Law abiding's in here and Noble reflection in for the tag as

well. The what could have been

claiming race if you will for race 8 here.

Where did you land in Race 8? And with the six, I really think

this horse has some ability and I think the pace scenario really

sets up and we lost you, I think.

Did we lose you? No, I'm right here.

OK you heard me the whole time. Yes cuz it stopped.

OK, so yeah, stream yard. Stream yard's struggling, bro.

It's OK. Yeah, I just double checked my I

just double checked my Internet. I'm super fast.

So yeah, it ain't this this side.

I don't use the stream yard. Yeah, keep going.

Yeah, but Harry's on the fly is, is I believe is related to a

horse named Harry's on the loose that was pretty decent on the

synthetic over a Gulfstream. And that's where this horse

started. But I think just for the fact of

the trip that this horse is going to get makes him a player

in this spot. I I think there's enough speed

up front with the 1 noble reflection sharp as attack has

to get up front and and out there.

And then you have the seven who's a little cheaper, Osage

Creek, who's going to get into the mix and, and I think Harry's

on the fly falls into a great trip.

Here I, I think the two this is just what makes you what what

makes Sammy run I I just I think this horse fits at this level.

Last time out was an optional claimer ran 4th by 3 1/2 legs.

Before that, this level 32 claimer at this distance wins.

Before that runs in 6 1/2 At this level.

At an optional claimer level, runs third.

Before that, runs in an optional 80, finishes 5th.

Before that claimer, 25 wins. Before that claimer, 32 wins.

I just think this is the distance.

This is the level. Horses 4 for 9 going 6 furlongs

on the turf. Has won 17 times on the Santa

Anita turf as well. So give me Antonio Frisu and

Mark Glad who are hitting at 28% right now at Santa Anita Park to

pick this one off. I know you mentioned the six on

top. You and I both have the four in

the second spot here in Sharp as Attack.

Is this purely a class play? Yeah, for the most part.

And, and the fact that this horse isn't on the rail, I think

that makes a lot of difference too.

It's going to get, you know, put a lot of pressure on noble

reflection hopefully and and then it'll set it up for my

horse. But I think Sharper's attack is

is really classy and and will show up.

Sharp as a tack, a bullet work the other day on the synthetic

workout track there on the inside of Santa Anita Park as

well. The race afterward is another

maiden special weight. This is Race 9 on the card here.

7 furlongs on the dirt, maidens 3-4 and five.

No restrictions on this one other than the fact you can't

have 1A race and you have to be 3-4 or five years old.

We got a Baffert in here. We've got Cheever in here.

We've got a penalty box. The hockey race.

Yeah, this is the hockey race for sure.

Where did you land in this one? I think there's a bunch of ways

to go here. See, I'm always going to try to

put out my, my hockey knowledge whenever I can.

This is, this is the same horses that were in that race before

when I had to highlight it with Cheever, with Jerry Cheever and

then penalty box. So yeah, I'm, I'm going away

from both of those horses. I, I think Sierra Silver is the

goods here. I know it's, it's kind of hard

to gauge because the horse ran so fast.

You know, it's counterintuitive for horse players to think of

how a horse is going to go backwards and still win.

We always think about the horses improving at the right time, not

regressing at the right time. That being said, the two races

that this horse is coming out of are super fast, super good and I

don't see anybody beating this horse.

If you are inclined, I would go with Reno the Seven who's 1/2 to

Cairo Memories who was really good on the turf and and quick.

I don't know if that really 100% translates, but the workouts

seem to indicate this horse has some speed and talent.

I think Cheaver's got a real spot here.

Really real shot. So lean on Cheaver here.

I love a second time starter. This one didn't show its ass the

first time out, so I think that matters as well.

And so I think Cheaver absolutely has a legitimate shot

here. Completely agree about Sierra

Silver in the second spot. I landed on the 6th.

Poor connection in the third spot here for Michael McCarthy

and Hector Barrios. The two of them do not connect

very often on horses, but this is a second time starter and

they have very clearly brought this horse back on a very

specific program to get ready for this spot.

But working at San Luis Rey ahead of this one, I think just

as a second time starter in the fact that Michael McCarthy

brings horses back after six months, around 18% winners gives

me a lot of hope that this one can get in there.

I gets Lasix for the first time, all those sorts of things,

Barry. I am hopeful that this one will

run better than it did last time.

Race 10 will start the late pick three.

One of our favorite wagers out there, $3 minimum and only a 15%

take out here. It is the Grade 3 Daytona down

the hill. Get a great field of Aiden here,

horses that certainly if you pay attention to turf raising at all

in the United States, you'll know Air Force Red brand Goliad,

stay hot. Lovesick Blues is in this

freaking race. Notorious is in here loaded.

Frankly, Barry and I know you and I have the same three horses

a little bit of mixed up order here, but Air Force Red is the

one. Let's do this first because you

have that horse second. I went ahead and put this one on

top and I know why you put the seven inventorious on top.

I'm not even going to fight you on it.

I get it. Well, let's make the case for

our guy Armando I use. So you ready for this?

Let's let's go ahead and make this case here.

This horse obviously in the siren lure going flat last time

2 back though did win the San Simeon down the hill a grade 3

as well. We're going on the San Simeon,

right. That's what we're hoping for

again here. Yeah.

I would think, you know, it's just the the the only thing that

I only reason I didn't put this horse on top is because he's

just not a good of a closer as motorist is this horse is going

to be nicely placed. I think you know, honestly, the

71 cold exacta is really where I'm going with all of this.

I like horses, like I mentioned before, coming off layoffs that

that are still running. Usually that means there's

another jump up and this would be the logical place for that to

happen. But it's just unfortunate that

they hook motorists in this spot.

I I think the race sets up completely for motorists.

I I mean, I didn't really know what to do with Goliad in this

spot, but they're, they're going to have to press the gas, you

know, and, and, and go out to the lead.

Bran Braun would have to do the same sort of thing and just

those two alone would heat up this pace enough for motorists.

I mean, whenever motorists goes down the hill, he's a lot closer

to the pace and has that last kick that really nobody in this

field can match. Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, he

finished second, almost caught * lust at the very end of that

race and did beat AG Bullet in that race.

So we just saw come back and qualify already for the Breeders

Cup Sprint. I would use one and seven and

move on with my life. Barry, would you just use the

seven here if you were playing late?

Pick 3. Yes, absolutely.

That's my single. OK, so there you go.

The late double starts with race 11 race that we were crazing at

the beginning of the show, but I'm sure we'll be cursing by the

end of it. These are the nickel claimers by

the way. A late double there is 5 bucks

for the minimum but only 15% take out.

We love those kind of wagers here on Socal Saturdays.

Presented by amwageramwager.com. Go check out our friends over

there. Race 11 though, $5000 claimer

restricted race for those three or for those excuse.

Yeah, for three-year olds and up based in Northern California,

going a mile on the dirt here, These are turned into some of

our favorite races to try to figure out.

Very pretty sure I don't think we, oh, we have one overlapping

horse. OK, there you go.

Wow. How about us?

But you laid it on the 10 on top here.

And we can get a price at 8:00 to 1:00 if upstart Yankee comes

through for you. Interesting choice here.

O for four this year. Yeah, O for 4 but really

overmatched. I mean, this horse is running at

12,000 start allowance 10 thousands and and getting beat

pretty handily. But prior to that at levels that

were pretty similar up in Northern California was fitting

the bill. Going this route of ground, I

don't really see too many horses that are going to be upfront,

right. So I don't gather the pace is

going to be all that hot. Getting position early is going

to be important for upstart Yankee, but I think Kazushi

Kimura, who has an excellent judge of pace, will get this

horse in the right position early.

I landed on the five Devil in the Bluegrass, Tyler Baez, Steve

Bryant. About that.

Only Bryant's 11th starter this year, but this horse did run a

really good second last outgoing this distance at the $8000

level. We get to drop back to the $5000

level, but this horse won last time that it ran into that kind

of company and frankly one for fun in that group got claimed

out of that one. Steve tried to move him up to

the to the $8000 level last time.

He's dropping it back into 5 here.

I think that's absolutely the play here for this son of cloud

computing who I think will get a good break and will be able to

compete well in this group right next to him.

Big bet for Ocio Espinosa and the Horrigi barn here has been

running at this level and man, just missed last time by a

length under SIL Espinosa and Sunset Storm ended up being the

favorite at post time for that one.

I'm getting six to one on a horse that was the favorite and

almost picked off last race. I feel good about that too.

So I landed 5-6 on top here. Barry, you made the case already

for the 10 in Upstart Yankee. Right next to that horse will be

the nine in JB Books. JB Books?

Why not horse that you and I actually agree on?

How about that? Why do you like JB Books?

It the drop down in class? I mean, it really doesn't get

any lower than this out West at this point and this horse was

running pretty good last year up at Golden Gate at way higher

levels. Comes to to Southern California

off a trainer change after the first start and kind of improved

slightly. So you know that effort on the

grass really doesn't mean anything and I'd put a line

through that. The last race really was the

tell tale sign. I think this horse is rounding

in the form they claim this horse at the right time going

back to the dirt. A lot of things line up for this

horse to run well. I think by the way, if the 11

draws in, it's one to absolutely look at.

Armando Iuso aboard Quality Cat, who does have a win at the

distance with a 74 speed figure, has not done great running since

moving to Santa Anita. But I think getting down to this

level, Barry getting this kind of class relief makes the 11

interesting. If you are looking for one more

in race 11 will close the card with the 12th race.

It is a state bred maiden special way going a mile on the

turf there at Santa Anita Park. You and I have one overlapping

pick again for Saturday's. Either one of us is going to

look really smart or we're both just dumb asses like it's no

options otherwise it's just dumbassery or or one of us is

going to look really, really, really smart in this one.

Like I said, state bred race here.

The 8 is the one that we have in both of our handicapping on top

for me, second for you. So I'll go first.

Ride Gold is the name of this horse.

Fits time starting for Craig Lewis.

Juan Hernandez gets the mound again.

This horse last two times should have won and frankly lost at the

six for a long distance. Tried a mile last time ended up

losing by a neck to less is more.

Hopefully just a little bit better in the conditioning this

time out. I thought the works recently a

little bit slower, but I think just maintenance works.

Getting ready to get back on the track for this one.

Barry turn around 2 is interesting, right?

This isn't one that they're waiting until Los Ala waiting

for Del Mar. They feel like get this horse

back out there right now. They haven't done that with this

horse before. They've given this horse either

a month off or more between starts.

Interested to see Ride Gold on Saturday at Santa Anita, but you

landed on the 10 here on the top spot in California Rocks.

Look at, look at, look, look at you just being just playing to

the audience. I mean, I got to do that.

Oh, come on, that's terrible. What do you like about the

second time? Well, I I thought this horse ran

pretty good that first out, losing the ride gold and that

race wasn't too quick up front and.

If this horse gets any kind of set up, any kind of pace up

front, I think California Rocks is going to be tough.

Not to mention the fact this horse is a full to sassy Serb

who won 240K on on the turf you know is bred to be well meant on

the turf. I'm not too sure of the barn,

I'm not too familiar with them, but that last workout tightener

spells go time for me. Barry, you're about to be proud

of me. Are you ready?

Oh. I like a 20 to one shot here.

How about? There you go.

There you go. Strawberry Tizzy breaks from the

floor for Sean McCarthy. That's a name that many of you

probably remember when Bob Baffert had to transfer horses

out and Tyler Bayes and this horse went in a maiden fifty

last time and I I couldn't remember the race Barry.

So I went back and watched and this was a horse that broke from

the gate and then did everything except run the race.

It was looking around. It was asking people about their

dinner plans. It was over here trying to get

bets on the UCLA baseball game. Like they couldn't figure out

what to do. And the Tyler was like, yo,

we're going to race here. And the horse went oh, crap, and

then made-up a bunch of ground. I'm wondering if we don't get a

considerably better look from this horse going, going from

Sprint to route is going to have to slow it down and take its

time. I love the move from Sprint to

route, even though that's a terrible angle for Sean

McCarthy. I know that the numbers at the

bottom tell you that this should not happen, but he does win

these maiden specials at 17%. I don't think he's moving this

horse up for a check. I think he thinks he has a shot

here. And so give me give me

strawberry tizzy. My exacta here, man.

I'm fascinated by that horse. You're about to be very proud of

me. I've got a 12 to one horse in

the third spot. Let's go.

Angel Vega trades this one. Second time starter I thought

looked really good at the end of March.

I remember handicapping that race with you.

Gets a second start here. Look, it's not been a good start

to the year for Angel Vega. I'm not going to pretend, but we

do get a second time starter. I think this is a really good

spot horse. Didn't mind the mile at all last

time. Keeps Carmona in the irons.

Give me 845 here. Why not I why not I'm I'm I'm

buying in Barry. I know you after the Ted you

like the 8:00 but also pure chaos.

Speaking of 15 to 1. Yeah, this is a full to a horse

named Pure Madness who's 2 for two on the turf.

Still in training too, but I, I think that in and of itself kind

of makes this horse sort of a a contender at 15 to 1 getting

Mike Smith, James Cassidy does pretty well with this sort of

angle. I I really can't knock anything

on a 15 to one shot which I absolutely love.

The state bread races, man, I mean, either, you know, if you

feel like you do have someone who is the class of this race,

you go with them. But otherwise I'm I'm with you,

man, largely try to figure it out and and get some prices as

well. They're running at Monmouth this

weekend in the Haskell preview. Anybody stand out in your mind?

In the old Haskell preview day, did you have anybody get you all

turned on besides there? Was there was one horse, a

Pletcher horse in the Pegasus named Valentinian?

Yeah, I like that horse in that spot.

Should get a nice trip. Was in the slot last time at

Churchill and and kind of got bogged down on the inside when

it was wet and and it really wasn't a good trip.

Should have a a better run of the race tomorrow and look for

that one at like 7:00 to 2:00. I'm spending the day at

Churchill Downs. Tomorrow I'm going to place a $5

wager singling Flavia and Pratt in every leg of the pick five at

Monmouth on Saturday. Just just try it to see if he

wins all 5 then I get my money back like.

Whatever, stranger things have happened.

I mean, didn't he do something like that last time he was

there? Or maybe it was two years ago?

I mean, he, he just won everything.

Butter parks, I can't remember. Yeah, someone wanted that too.

He just showed up and it was like, and Flavia just probably

going to lead into that as well. Again, we're presented by

Amwager and amwager.com. A 100% deposit match awaits new

customers at amwager.com. Go check them out live in

California. Would love to be part of your

Socal Saturday that way. But for Barry Spears, my name is

Louis Rebo. This has been another edition of

Socal Saturdays. We appreciate you jumping on

with us and making us part of your horse racing weekend.

We'll be right back here next week talking lost ponies, $1.00

pick fours. Yeah, we'll be doing that.

It's tacos. Even though Barry doesn't want.

I'm open, I'm open to it. That's.

Like a character like I don't. Yeah, yeah, no, they would throw

Rotten Tomatoes with me. I do want to be fair to my guy

Barry. I dragged him to the wood

memorial and then right of the wood memorial, I dragged him to

a Taco truck and he didn't say he did.

No, I didn't. I didn't.

It was. Good I got the torta but like

what I? Did I got a torta and it was

very good. We love Tortas.

See you next week. Go karts.