Saturday's Best Bet: Smokin' T ready to ignite in Cliff Hanger
Saturday’s seventh race at Monmouth Park is the $100,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes for 3-year-olds and up traveling 1 1/6 miles on the turf course. The scheduled post time is 3:26 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Monmouth Park entries and results.
No. 2 Smokin’ T (3-1) is definitely faster this year for Shug McGaughey. He completed the trifecta in his first two starts this season and got back on the beam in a fast turf route victory as the favorite at Churchill on May 5. He figures to stalk the pace and might be this good.
No. 6 Public Sector (2-1) had an excellent sophomore campaign in 2021. He won a trio of graded turf routes that season but did not follow through in 2022. He was winless in six outings last year and tries to get back on track for Chad Brown. He fits with these and could easily take this.
No. 7 Big Everest (8-5) should be out there on the lead and might be tough to run down. He went all the way in his last three flat mile turf starts and two of those were stakes races.
No. 1 James Aloysius (6-1) was part of the exacta in all four turf starts. He was second in his 2021 bow and graduated in his lone start last year. He stalked and scored in his first start this season on March 8 and finished a close second at Keeneland on April 15. This is his third start without a layoff line attached so they obviously have him healthy now.
Get Jarrod’s Santa Anita analysis.
Wagers
No. 2 to win
Exacta Box 2-6
Trifecta 2-6/1-2-6-7/1-2-6-7
Recent Best Bet winners
May 2 – Prove Worthy ($9.90)
May 3 – Warrant ($8.62)
May 4 – Bango/Miles Ahead exacta ($26.40), trifecta ($86.84)
May 6 – General Jim ($12.04), exacta ($75.02)
May 12 – Drew’s Gold/Squire Creek/Joey Freshwater trifecta ($62)
May 14 - Anarchist ($7.70)
May 16 - Templet ($19.60), exacta ($36)
May 18 - Montauk Point/Luigi's Spirit exacta ($43.80)
Monday - Do You Love Me ($5.60)
Thursday - Alogon ($10)