Sunday's Best Bet: Acquired Class reaches out in Desert Code
Sunday's sixth race at Santa Anita is the $100,000 Desert Code Stakes for 3-year-olds dashing 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. The scheduled post time is 6:41 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
No. 5 Acquired Class (6-1) added blinkers and broke through with a strong maiden win in a local turf sprint on April 22. Juan Hernandez was aboard that day and he jumps over to Conclude this time. He loses nothing in the irons with Umberto Rispoli hopping aboard, and he drew outside his main pace rival. Peter Miller’s improving gelding is not out of this.
No. 2 First Peace (8-5) turned back and beat three of these as my 4-1 value top choice in the John Shear in his turf sprint return on April 9. He should work out another decent tactical trip under Mike Smith, but he won’t offer much value this time.
No. 4 Conclude (9-5) ran well in his first two maiden turf sprints, and he was able to get involved early in those races. The pace was quicker in the John Shear last time, and he was always playing catchup as the beaten favorite. There is less pace this time, and he might bounce back under his new rider Juan Hernandez.
No. 1 Valiancer (6-1) is a decent late-running turf sprinter, and he can get a piece of this under sharp turf rider Hector Berrios. He came running for the show in the John Shear.
Get Jarrod’s Santa Anita analysis.
Wagers
No. 5 to win
Exacta box 2-5
Trifecta 2-4-5/2-4-5/1
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)
Last Sunday - Anarchist ($7.70)
Tuesday - Templet ($19.60), exacta ($36)
Thursday - Montauk Point/Luigi's Spirit exacta ($43.80)