Posted on
12/28/2007 3:58:29 PM
Horse Racing Betting - Grade III Frances A Genter & Grade I La Brea Stakes
By D.S. Williamson
First weekend of the long winter/spring Santa Anita Meet. One of the horse races in this article is actually at Santa Anita. The other is at Calder. Let’s get to it!
Grade III Frances A Genter - - Calder Racecourse
7 ½ furlongs Turf
Francies A Genter was the old lady woman that Carl Nafzger kept talking to in the stretch of Unbridled’s victory in the 1990 Kentucky Derby. That piece of information does us no good in handicapping this race. What will do is us good is the presence of Sweet Ransom on the inside for trainer Bill Mott. Sweet Ransom, a 3-year old out of Red Ransom, has the desired style in this race - - close to the pace, inside saving ground - - and due to the presence of Rutherienne, should have no problem keeping her odds. I like the fact that Ransom comes into this off of a lay-off, gets Kent Desormeaux, and has done well at this distance. We also get Calder specialist, Snow Cone with Sweet Ransom and that should help our cause. I suspect that Sweet Ransom may be coming into her own and looks like a nice long-shot in this spot. After Rutherienne, who has way too much class to finish less than second in this spot, I’m going with Pretoria Light to finish up in the tri. Why not? This will be her second straight grass race. She could surprise.
1. Sweet Ransom
2. Rutherienne
3. Pretoria Light
Grade I La Brea Stakes - - Santa Anita Park
7 Furlongs Cushion Track
Huge field with a lot of figure horses to deal with in here. After staring at this thing for well over an hour, I finally settled on the lightly raced Glorified out of the Ron Ellis barn. I understand how fast the cushion track has been playing at Santa Anita Park early in this meet, but I can’t get past the fact that there are no less than eight speed horses in this thing. Glorified, who can stalk or come from the clouds, should be sitting in the cat-bird seat. That can make all the difference in this race. For the second spot, I’m going to put Ashley’s Kitty in there. Kitty, who might go off the favorite in this Grade I, has terrific form and, on paper, is the best filly in this thing. Beware low odds on this gal. Why not put Cathrine’s Hope in the third spot? Like Glorified, she’s a closer or stalker type who can find herself with a lot of work to do at the top of the stretch. I’m hoping that the speed backs up!
1. Glorified
2. Ashley’s Kitty
3. Cathrine’s Hope
Horse racing with BetUS Racebook Online Racebook. We've got up to date lines and odds on 85+ racetracks. Join BetUS today to get in on the action.