Thursday’s Best Bet: Beef Winslow may surge at Santa Anita
Thursday’s seventh race at Santa Anita is an optional-claiming event for 4-year-olds and up dashing 6 1/2 furlongs on the downhill turf course. The scheduled post time is 6:30 p.m. EST.
Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.
No. 8 Beef Winslow (5-2) ran well in back-to-back, flat-mile turf races after Mark Glatt claimed him for $32,000 last summer. He turned back Dec. 26 and smartly won that downhill turf sprint by 3 1/4 lengths. Flavien Prat rode him perfectly last time, and another stalking journey is anticipated.
No. 7 First Peace (3-1) fired trifecta shots in all six turf starts. He stalked and scored in the local John Shear Stakes at this distance last spring and missed by a nose as the chalk in the Desert Code last May. Mark Glatt is enjoying a productive meet, and he shows a profit with this type of layoff runner. The early-pressing returnee goes on Lasix for the first time.
No. 1 Reiquist (5-1) won two races in 2023. He graduated in a dirt sprint and was placed first from a tough outer post in a flat-mile turf race. He stalked and weakened in the Del Mar Derby (G2) and stalked and finished a close fourth in the Twilight Derby (G2). He stalked and faded when last seen in the Hollywood Derby (G1). Frankie Dettori is his new pilot, and he might like this shorter distance.
No. 10 Doncic (4-1) never has been better. He won his last three turf sprints and projects an outer stalking trip under Juan Hernandez.
Get Jarrod’s Santa Anita analysis.
Wagers
No. 8 to win
Exacta box 7-8
Trifecta 7-8/1-7-8-10/1-7-8-10
Recent Best Bet winners
Feb. 4 – Point Dume ($5.60), exacta ($11.40)
Last Thursday – Sonofaship ($10.60), exacta ($33.60), trifecta ($75.20)
Friday – Determined Driver ($6.20), exacta ($17.40)
Saturday – Missed the Cut ($4.40)
Tuesday – Ova Charged ($7.60), exacta ($20.20)