“Turf’s up” at Gulfstream and Santa Anita Park this Friday. Pick the winner of four turf races and you will be two-thirds of the way toward hitting the Sunset 6 wager that started the week with a lucrative $43K carryover pool. It’s a $1 bet, spanning the last three races at both tracks. Here’s a closer look:
GP 8th race (3:50 p.m. EST) -- COCO ABARRIO broke last and remained last when shuffled back into the turn, but she gathered momentum in early stretch, closed with a 7-wide rush for second and galloped out in front of the winning favorite. She’s a must use in this 5F turf sprint. SHADES OF JADE is undervalued as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, but she completes the first leg of the Sunset 6 sequence, nonetheless. She was confidently handled by Irad Ortiz Jr. in her seasonal debut, pressing the leader through moderate fractions while in-hand before separating from the field at the 1/8 pole.
GP 9th race (4:20 p.m. EST) -- AIR FORCE CRUISING embarked on a 3-for-4 winning streak off a similar layoff last winter. Her only setback was against Ms Tart (7-22, $365k), who won a Grade 3 turf stakes soon after. She is well-spotted to win again on her preferred synthetic surface. RACHEL’S COACH also starts fresh with a blazing :34-3/5 workout over the track. She has six wins and five of her rivals today have two each. She finished last when last seen, but faced the likes of the aforementioned Ms Tart, sprint terror Rezasrolex, a winner of nine consecutive races, and Chrome Ghost (6-20, $239k), who posted back-to-back 90-plus Beyers in high-priced optional claiming victories at Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs this winter.
GP 10th race (4:51 p.m. EST) -- LOMAX rallied mildly into a soft pace in his first start for a tag. He was claimed from Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, but he will remain a popular Sunset 6 selection the way new conditioner Carlos David has been winning lately. David is 16-for-48 off the claim and 6-for-16 with the “blinkers off” angle. ASTIN STYLE also enters a hot barn, with a recent photo-finish setback in a higher-tagged, one-mile turf race summon. Trainer Philip Antonacci is 5-17 with turf starters since 2025. MAKE ME FAMOUS exits MSW company, stretches out and changes surfaces for his third start. He finished behind odds-on stablemate Skellig Michael two starts back and next-out MSW winner He’s a Beast. OPERATNTHUNDERBOLT, surrounded by a trio of deep closers at this level after setting a 1:09-3/5 pace for 6F, hasn’t raced since that May grass route but is worth using as a longshot play.
SA 7th race (6:33 p.m. EST) -- VANCOUGAR has two wins, a fast-closing third from post 11 and a troubled third as the favorite last out in his last four starts on a firm Santa Anita lawn. TESSUTO shook a 3-way duel inside the 1/8 pole and held off a fast-closing rival to prevail at 6F on the main track. He showed little in two turf tests at Santa Anita, but new trainer Jeff Mullins sees something that he likes. SMART CODE is piling up the checks, puts the blinkers back on and projects an ideal stalking trip at a suitable distance. AMERICAN GLORY was the closest pursuer of three-peat winner Captain Choochies, but he settled for second best with a career-best 88 Beyer last out.
SA 8th race (7:03 p.m. EST) -- OUR MOONLIGHT, third behind Grade 3 winner Cash Call and multiple graded stakes-placed Howin last year as a 2-year-old, unwound too late to finish second at 6-1/2F in her return from a six-month layoff. She galloped out in front of the upset winner, who got first run off the dueling leaders. She adds blinkers and goes one mile for the first time for a high-percentage barn with these types. RUNAMILEINMYSHOES led at every call in two one-mile allowance tests on the main track. She was claimed on the class hike for $50,000 and returns to the dirt.
SA 9th race (7:43 p.m. EST) -- SILLY RABIT had a horror trip when he won through disqualification to launch his career at Laurel Park last April. He tracked a snails-like pace at Del Mar two starts ago, only to be ‘turned away’ by the front-end 5-to-1 winner. He drops in claiming price and holds a tactical advantage today in a field that lacks quality speed. Make him a solo play to close out the Sunset 6.
Suggested $1 Ticket
GP 8th Race: 2, 8
GP 9th Race: 3, 4
GP 10th Race: 2, 3, 5, 9
SA 7th Race: 1, 2, 3, 7
SA 8th Race: 1, 4
SA 9th Race: 4
Cost: $128
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