After a racing week of carryovers and stakes action in Arcadia, they are back at it on Friday afternoon for the start of another three days of Thoroughbred action at Santa Anita Park. The 9-race slate kicks off at 4 pm ET / 1 pm PT. Here are the horses I like most.
Race 2:
My first play comes in this state-bred $12,500 maiden claimer at two-turns where I am hoping to wire the field with #1 Brahms Mendelssohn. The 4YO gelding makes his third start of the form cycle after a pair of sprints to kick off his 2026 season. He ran a solid second in his first start back despite being caught wide throughout, but was not as successful last time when hung out four-wide going 5.5-furlongs. I like the stretch out for the Brendan Galvin trainee and of course the inside draw, which should allow jockey Kyle Frey to have no issue working out favorable forward position into the first turn. It should be graduation day for the Four Quarters Corp homebred to kick off the first Pick 4 of the week.
Play: #1 Brahms Mendelssohn (5-2 ML)
Race 8:
Class dropper #1 Man Child was made the understandable 5-2-ML favorite in this open $10k claimer at 5.5-furlongs after a slow start from the rail put him in a spot he could not recover from on January 16. The issue is he draws the inside post again making him vulnerable since getting out of the gate well has not been his forte of late. I will try to beat the chalk with #3 Hey Brother. The 6YO gelding makes his first start in almost a year to the day and returns to the Librado Barocio barn after being on the east coast last winter. The son of City of Light gets to run under the waiver claim rule since he has been on the sidelines for 120+ days and is competing for a claiming price equal to or greater than his last start. He will be very tough, if able to get back to anywhere near his best. I will take my chances.
Play: #3 Hey Brother (6-1 ML)
Race 9:
My final play of the day comes in the finale where I like the chances quite a bit of #8 Robin Olds. The Mo Forza colt debuted over this same surface and distance on February 13 and put forth a better than looks third to kick off his career. In that first try for trainer Phil D’Amato, the Nick Alexander homebred broke well and relaxed professionally off the pace early, but simply did not get the setup he needed to run the field down. In fact, the two runners prominent early finished 1-2 in the end with this good looking grey coming with a big run late to finish a hard charging third. With the start under his belt and hot riding Armando Ayuso aboard, I like his chances quite a bit to close the day with his first lifetime score.
Play: #8 Robin Olds (9-2 ML)
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