Del Mar Horse Racing Picks for Saturday 11/28/20
It's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.
Starting at 3:30 p.m. EST, we have nine races at Del Mar. Using numberFire’s projections as a guide, here are some of the best bets.
As always, check the program for scratches and changes, and check the weather and track conditions.
(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)
Pizzazz and Bay Storm, Race 5
FanDuel Racing Odds: 6/1 and 5/1
Race 5 is the Grace III Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, and it's going 1 mile on the turf. Horse Racing Radar notes the inconsistent nature of juvenile runners, and the importance of training patterns and looking to find improvement of young runners. Horse Racing Radar also notes the last five winners of this Grade III race have been out-of-state fillies.
Favorite Fluffy Socks (5/2) is the projected winner, according to numberFire’s data, and she will take money for EPO trainer Chad Brown and leading jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. coming west to ride. Fluffy Socks won two starts this fall and tries her fifth racetrack in five starts after finishing runner-up by a nose a month ago with her best speed figure (86).
Daily Horse Picks rates the speed of Pizzazz (6/1) and Closing Remarks (15/1) best and expects those two to challenge for the win. Guaranteed Tip Sheet has Pizzazz hitting the board and notes the trainer/jockey combo of Richard Mandella and Mike Smith has won five of their last 12 together. Pizzazz is 3-for-3 in the money and won over this turf track and distance a month ago. She has come back with a pair of very sharp workouts since.
Bay Storm (5/1) is being shipped in with confidence, according to Top Race Reports. She is given more ground off a maiden win and has a sharp set of drills, including a bullet-best of 55 runners recently.
Magical Thought (12/1) has improved nicely from her debut and won a 5-furlong sprint wire-to-wire two weeks ago in her second career start. She has Del Mar's leading jockey Abel Cedillo aboard for top EPO trainer Peter Miller. Quattroelle (8/1) scored a visually impressive off-the-pace maiden victory in her U.S. debut at Santa Anita. She came home in 23.39 seconds in the final quarter-mile to win with an 86 speed figure.
Flavius and One Bad Boy, Race 7
FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2 and 12/1
Race 2 is the Grade II $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. If Peter Miller-trained Anothertwistafate (4/1) wins in his first start on turf and second start in 18 months, then you’ll know the real power of EPO. It's hard to root for him, and numberFire’s algorithm projects Bowies Hero (6/1) and favorite Flavius (5/2) from post No. 11 to decide this race.
Flavius is trained by Chad Brown and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. for the first time. Flavius won a stakes race in September from off the pace but finished fifth against stronger runners in the Grade I Shadwell Turf at competitive odds eight weeks ago in his last start. Bowies Hero finished seventh in the Shadwell Turf at longer odds, and EPO trainer Phil D’Amato has Bowies Hero and Count Again (8/1) entered.
Blitzkrieg (10/1) is training sharply and will likely try to steal this on the front end after carrying the lead into the stretch before finishing four his last race in early August. Also, EPO trainer Richard Baltas has a pair of runners in Next Shares (12/1) and One Bad Boy (12/1) with leading jockey Flavien Prat riding again after a wire-to-wire win last month in a minor stakes race with a his best race and speed figure (112) to date. One Bad Boy raced fast up front and carried it further, and if he can settle and slow a bit today, he’ll factor in the money.
Trainer Chad Brown has another runner in this race who is unproven against stakes competition. He thought enough to ship in Spirit Animal (8/1) off his impressive allowance win two months ago with a solid work tab in place, but Brown may be doing it to impact the pace in an effort to help stablemate Flavius.
Decorated Invader and Smooth Like Strait, Race 9
FanDuel Racing Odds: 3/1 and 7/2
Race 9 is the Grade 1 $300,000 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds. There are 12 runners lined up to race 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Unfortunately, there are also more EPO trainers, too. Daily Horse Picks projects Chad Brown-trained Domestic Spending (5/1) to win with Irad Ortiz, Jr. riding, and Decorated Invader (3/1) should be closing hard as the top pick of numberFire with strong stretch rider Joel Rosario aboard.
Decorated Invader has such wonderful action as noted by Top Race Reports. Respected trainer Christophe Clement enters Decorated Invader and Gufo (4/1) on the far outside No. 12 post. Gufo is a very capable contender as the top pick of Guaranteed Tip Sheet. Also, Horse Racing Radar notes Gufo is a head away from winning six races in a row.
Smooth Like Strait (7/2 ) is 2-for-2 at Del Mar and won his last start with top turf jockey Umberto Rispoli riding. He’ll likely be running up front, has easy action and can take this if he settles along.
