It’s San Francisco Mile weekend at Golden Gate Fields, but before Saturday’s featured $250,000 turf stakes, handicappers at the Northern California track will have already covered a lot of distance. The Friday and Saturday cards offer 12 more route races, four that make up the 50-cent Late Pick 4 Friday that looks like this:
GG 6th race (6:56 EST) -- SUGAR BEETS rallied for back-to-back wins at one mile in the winter but was no threat in three follow-up tries against the likes of America Great (4-11, $48k), Bernalino (18/4-3-7, $77k) and Vantage Point (2-1 odds or less in 8 of his last 9 starts). He gets class relief, adds blinkers and is the top choice in the leadoff leg. DARK AIM steps up off the claim, but he appeared to have the runner-up measured in victory last out and can repeat. SOUTHEAST ASIA finally escaped a traffic jam and upstaged a series of in-the-money finishes with a victory over stretch-out sprinter Katzumoto, who fired a big shot off the claim.
GG 7th race (7:26 EST) -- GRAZIN AT SUNRISE stretches out off a much improved second start sprinting, when she chased solid fractions on a track that played extremely fast and held third. She can control the pace from the outside today and the transition to the turf should be no problem for the daughter of Grazen, whose progeny include graded stakes-winning grass routers Lieutenant Dan (8-17, $833k) and Enola Gray (7-12, $585k). RUN FOR MY HONEY showed steady progress while finishing second in her four starts at one mile. She figures to beat this group, but she has yet to race on turf and offers little value at 8-5 on the morning line. THREE DIMENSIONAL is a viable longshot as the first foal out of a dam who earned nearly half her bankroll on turf with a win, second and third.
GG 8th race (7:56 EST) -- Five entrants reunite and switch surfaces after a 1-1/16-mile battle on the turf 20 days ago. SKY MAKER won that day, stalking pace-controlling favorite SHE’S SO SHINY from between rivals and getting up in the shadow of the wire to prevail in her first try around two turns and on the grass. Sky Maker was one of three winners to come out of her prior race and the improving 3-year-old ran second to odds-on Miss Union (11/4-2-4, $97k) prior to that. REMEMBER SUE was no threat to the top pair, but she merits a second look off her prior form on the all-weather surface. She ascended the class – and speed figure -- ranks with two wins and two seconds at one mile since entering the 25-percent Steiner barn.
GG 9th race (8:26 EST) -- Go deep in this field of unproven maiden turf milers. LOVELY LOLA takes a magnified class drop after she finished a distant third twice at Santa Anita -- behind Arizona Oaks winner Unsolved Mystery and 4-to-5 runaway Work To Live. PRAY TO AN ANGEL is proven at this level and a must use in her first turf start. Her dam was 9/3-3-0 on the lawn. ARISTEIA and LIVIN’ AT THE BU finished second and third at 1-1/8 miles on the turf behind Starship Endeavor, who repeated her wire-to-wire victory in a $12,500/N2L turf-to-dirt claimer next out. KID IN THE FOREST ran second against easier foes at first asking, but her dam was a $75,000 turf earner.
Suggested 50-cent Ticket
GG 6th Race: 3, 5, 7
GG 7th Race: 3, 7, 8
GG 8th Race: 6, 7
GG 9th Race: 2, 3, 6, 8, 11
COST: $45
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