Saturday's Best Bet: Easter can close the gap in Lure
Saturday’s ninth race at Santa Anita is the $80,000 Lure Stakes for 3-year-olds and up traveling one mile on the turf course. The scheduled post time is 8:11 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
No. 5 Easter (3-1) rallied to miss by a neck at 1 1/8 miles on Aug. 24. Graham Motion’s gelding does his best work at this distance and should be finishing under Frankie Dettori. He raced at this distance twice this year and he won both of those races.
No. 3 Astronomer (5-2) won the Golden Mile at Del Mar in 2021, missed all of 2202, and returned at Del Mar this summer. He desperately needed his July 21 return, and stalked and scored under Antonio Fresu on Aug. 19. He set the pace and missed by a neck in the City of Hope Mile on Sept. 30.
No. 8 Bally’s Charm (5-1) won half of his ten turf starts and he owns dangerous early speed. He set a fast pace and kept on going at this course and distance on Oct. 1.
No. 2 Irideo (6-1) has not won since the 2022 Wickerr and his recent form is not great, but he packs a nice late kick when he is on his game. He rallied to hit the board in last year’s Del Mar Mile, and picked up checks this year in the local American Stakes and Shoemaker Mile. Umberto Rispoli hops aboard and he will try to get involved late.
Get Jarrod’s Santa Anita analysis.
Wagers
No. 5 to win
Exacta box 3-5
Trifecta 3-5-8/all/2
Sept. 29 – Kirstenbosch ($15)
Oct. 4 – Agate Road ($6.90), exacta ($63), trifecta ($119.48)
Oct. 5 – Portage ($7.30)
Oct. 10 – Warrior's Ransom ($12.80)
Oct. 16 – Greavette ($21.20), exacta ($52.40)
Last Friday – Lady Lithesome ($10), exacta ($29.80), trifecta ($105.80)