Jeff Siegel’s “What You Need to Know”
Santa Anita
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Santa Anita 2nd Race – Post: 1:30 PT. Degree of confidence: B+
Top Selection/Prime Play: 3-Just Before Dawn
Backups: none
Forecast: Just Before Dawn is a first timer with a series of outstanding workouts that should have him fit and ready for a top performance in this extended sprint for older maidens. The son of Justify – a $625,000 weanling purchase at Keeneland – is a half-brother to multiple Grade-1 winner Moonshine Memories and finally makes it to the most late in his 3-year-old season for trainer B. Baffert, who hits at a phenomenal 30% with debut runners. This isn’t the strongest maiden field we’ve seen this meeting so if this promising sophomore colt can avoid any mistakes he should be hard to beat as a win play and rolling exotic single.
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Santa Anita – 6th race – Post: 3:30 PT. Degree of confidence: B+
Top Selection/Prime Play: 6-Uptown Preacher
Other Contenders: none.
Forecast: Uptown Preacher has trained considerably better than a typical maiden claimer, but she’s been stopped and started on many times and a was scratch late in the recent Del Mar summer season out of what looked like a winning spot. She finally makes it to the post (hopefully) in a rather soft affair, and if she duplicate her morning ability in the afternoon the C. Gaines-trained four-year-old shouldn’t have any problem handling this modest assignment. At 5/2 on the morning line she offers good gambling value in the win pool and as rolling exotic single.
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