starlet stakes | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Los Angeles County Fair Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos in Cypress, Calif. will begin Friday, Dec. 4.

Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday (Dec. 4-6) this week and is scheduled for Thursday-Sunday (Dec. 10-13 and 17-20) the final two weeks. Post time will be 1 p.m on weekdays and 12:30 p.m. on weekends.

The LACF Winter meet will be highlighted by a pair of graded events for 2-year-olds – the Grade 1, $300,000-guaranteed Starlet for fillies Saturday, Dec. 5 and the Grade 2, $200,000-guaranteed Los Alamitos Futurity Saturday, Dec. 19.

The Starlet is one of the races on the “Road to the Kentucky Oaks'' with the winner receiving 10 points towards a berth in the Kentucky Oaks April 30, 2021 at Churchill Downs.

Among the leading candidates for the Starlet are Astute, winner of her last two starts for Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, and Princess Noor, who suffered her first career loss in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies after three wins, including successes in two Grade 1 events – the Del Mar Debutante and Chandelier at Santa Anita. Princess Noor is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who will be seeking his fourth consecutive Starlet win after victories by Dream Tree (2017), Chasing Yesterday (2018) and Bast (2019).

The Futurity is one of the events on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby.'' The winner earns 10 points towards a spot in the Kentucky Derby May 1, 2021.

Among the nominees to the Futurity are Classier, an impressive debut winner for Baffert Oct. 24, Del Mar Futurity runner-up Spielberg, Best Pal Stakes winner Weston and Hot Rod Charlie, second behind Essential Quality in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

Baffert has won all six renewals of the Futurity – Dortmund (2014), Mor Spirit (2015), Mastery (2016), McKinzie (2017), Improbable (2018) and Thousand Words (2019) – since the race was moved to Los Alamitos from Hollywood Park.

Baffert has won the Futurity, which was run in Inglewood from 1981-2013, a record 12 times.

Both the Futurity and the Starlet will be run at 1 1/16 miles.

The LACF Winter meet will also feature one other graded stakes – the Grade 3, $100,000 Bayakoa. Restricted to fillies and mares (3-year-olds & up) at 1 1/16 miles, the Bayakoa will be run Sunday, Dec. 6.

Completing the stakes program are a pair of one-mile races for 2-year-olds bred or sired in California – the $100,000-guaranteed Soviet Problem for fillies and the $100,000-guaranteed King Glorious.

The Soviet Problem will be run Saturday, Dec. 12 while the King Glorious will be offered Sunday, Dec. 20.

Live racing will continue to be run with no spectators and only essential personnel allowed inside the facility to conduct the program.

The wagering menu includes the Pick Six – with the traditional 70/30 split and no jackpot provision – a pair of $1 Pick 4's – races 2-5 and the final four races – as well as the popular Players' Pick 5 – a 50-cent minimum wager with a reduced 14% takeout rate which is offered on the first five races.

Entries – which were taken Tuesday for the opening day program – were strong. A total of 85 horses were entered in eight races.

The post Starlet, Futurity Highlight Winter Thoroughbred Meet At Los Alamitos appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

LNJ Foxwoods' Astute, a chestnut filly by sprint champion Speightstown who fetched $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale last year, had all of her speed Saturday at Del Mar as she ran away and hid from five rivals in the featured $100,500 Desi Arnaz Stakes at the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif.

Taking her cues from a pair of Hall of Famers — trainer Richard Mandella and rider Mike Smith – Astute went head-and-head with the odds-on favorite Private Mission through splits of :22.21 and :45.30 for the first half mile of the 6 1/2-furlong dash, shook that one off turning for home, then drew out to a sparkling 7 1/2-length tally in a final time of 1:17.28.

Finishing second was Saragol Stable Corp and Johana Viana's Queengol, a nose in front of Watson, Pegram and Weitman's Heels Up.

Astute was making only the second start of her career and her first in a stakes. She had won a straight maiden race on grass at Santa Anita last month in her debut.

“Wow, That's what I've got to say,” said Smith. “I knew she was good; I just didn't know she was this good. She was good on the grass the other day (winning a straight maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs), but she's even better on the dirt.”

“The owners and the manager — Alex Solis Jr. — told me before I ever saw her that she's special and it's kind of held true,” said Mandella. “She got a little sick on me in the summer and I had to give her a month off, so that's why she's a little late (starting her career). I only put her in the maiden turf (debut win on October 12 at Santa Anita) because I knew she could do turf and I was afraid a dirt race the next day wouldn't fill. I expected she'd run well today, but maybe not this well. We'll think about the Starlet.”

The Grade 1 Starlet over 1 1/16-miles at Los Alamitos will be run Dec. 5.

Astute paid $12.20, $5.40 and $5.20. Queengol returned $5.60 and $4.20, while Heels Up paid $6.00 for the show.

LNJ Foxwoods is the nom du course of Larry, Nanci and Jaime Roth of Great Neck, N.Y. Mandella also trains the top grass horse United for the outfit.

Leading rider Abel Cedillo added a pair of winners to his totals after seven days of racing and now shows 12 firsts. Trainer Mandella won another race on the card and now has five firsts for the meet, second in the conditioner's standings to Peter Miller's six.

Racing resumes at Del Mar tomorrow starting at 12:30 p.m. with a nine-race card.

The post Astute Upsets Private Mission To Win Del Mar’s Desi Arnaz In A Romp appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post