Horse owner, breeder and HRTV analyst Jeff Siegel also happens to be Southern California's premier handicapper. Check his blog each day before you play!
Handicapping, in short, refers to analyzing the race to come up with best predicted outcome, or pick. There are many angles when it comes to picking a winner. Using some of the help from the professional handicappers below, you can determine your own angle on placing a bet. For more information on how to bet or wager, click here.
The Sunday program begins with a very weak maiden claimer; we’ll use two and hope that’s sufficient. Flew Flicker is an 11-race maiden but he actually finished first in a race three back, only to be disqualified. He has dangerous speed in this context so we’ll use him along with Political Man, a closing sort with competitive figures for a clever outfit. Toss in a few others if you’d like or better yet simply pass the race.
As this is written it is unsure whether there will be racing on turf. However, for the purpose of this analysis, we’ll assume the races will remain on grass.
Lord Vronsky seeks his third straight win in the Friday opener but is actually dropping a notch off a Spawr claim, and hasn’t had a registered work for almost a month. He’s 4/5 on the morning line, so regardless of whether he’s healthy or not, he offers no value. Cabo Chico was 4/5 against Lord Vronsky when they met last time out and wound up fourth, but today lands a more comfortable outside post and seems capable bouncing back. If you’re looking to play the race, he might be the safer of the two, though a better strategy might simply be to pass the race.
The Thursday program begins with what appears to be an early daily double that could up rather chalky. Kingsbury drops from a very strong straight maiden race to a rather weak maiden claimer and is listed as the 6/5 morning line favorite. He seems to lack any early speed and he’ll have to overcome the rail but he almost rates top billing by default. In a race that somebody has to win, he has credentials, but not enough to warrant a play at a short price. Let’s pass the race and look for better opportunities.
A challenging Sunday program begins with a challenging entry-level allowance affair at nine furlongs on turf. Alley Hondro draws a much better post in his second off a claim for Ellis and retains Talamo. He’s never been all that successful over this turf course but in this league he’s good enough to pose a serious threat with his best effort. Unusual Jazz is our top pick and one to beat. A repeat of his race before would be good enough. Both should be included in rolling exotic play.
The Big ‘Cap’s 11-race card is terrific – the best of the season – and begins straight up at Noon.
In the opener, Storm Fighter has improving form for Headley and a style that should project well over a distance of ground. He has the classic two-sprints-and-a-stretch-out pattern and continues to impress in the morning. In a below par field for the level, the son of Stormin Fever looks ready to graduate, but at 8/5 on the morning line offers little value in the straight pool. We’ll use him as a rolling exotic single.
