By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman
There's a strong chance
Saturday's $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) will be won by a Bob Baffert
trainee, and not just because Baffert trains three of the five entrants in the
1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier.
Baffert has won the Los
Alamitos Futurity a record 14 times since 1997, including eight out of 10
editions since the race moved to Los Alamitos in 2014. Baffert's success stems
in large part from the fact he consistently enters top-tier horses. His past
Los Alamitos Futurity champs include Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Real Quiet,
Preakness (G1) and Belmont (G1) winner Point Given, Kentucky Derby runner-up
Pioneerof the Nile, Preakness winner Lookin At Lucky, Dubai World Cup (G1)
conqueror Captain Steve, champion Improbable, Kentucky Derby third-place
finisher Dortmund, and multiple Grade 1 winner McKinzie.
In recent years, Baffert has
tended to enter up-and-coming types in the Los Alamitos Futurity. But in 2024, Baffert
is bringing the established Grade 1 winner #1
Gaming (2-5), who should be mighty tough to defeat.
Gaming has already beaten two
of his four Los Alamitos Futurity rivals. When he debuted in a 6 1/2-furlong
maiden special weight at Del Mar, he led all the way to defeat #4 Rank (15-1) by 5 1/2 lengths. Then
in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1), Gaming rallied nicely from off the
pace to win by 1 3/4 lengths over a deep field including future two-time Grade
1 winner Citizen Bull and Best Pal (G2) winner #3 Getaway Car (3-1).
Two months later, Gaming
made his two-turn debut in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), where
he again faced Citizen Bull and Getaway Car, who had since finished 1-2 in the
American Pharoah (G1). This time Citizen Bull proved best, leading all the way
to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Gaming raced in second place at every call and fought gallantly
down the homestretch, pulling 3 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher
while Getaway Car came home fourth.
Even in defeat, Gaming ran
fast on the speed figure scales, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure and a 105
Brisnet Speed rating. In both cases, those are the highest numbers in the Los Alamitos
Futurity field.
Gaming has posted four timed
workouts since the Breeders' Cup, including a swift five furlongs in :59 3/5 at
Santa Anita, so he appears ready to bring his A game to Los Alamitos. It isn't
often that Baffert runs a Breeders' Cup Juvenile entrant back in the Los
Alamitos Futurity, but when he does, they tend to perform well—Point Given,
Lookin At Lucky, and Pioneerof the Nile all parlayed Breeders' Cup defeats into
Futurity triumphs.
So if you're betting
multi-race wagers at Los Alamitos this Saturday, you can feel confident singling
Gaming at a short price. Consider also keying him on top of vertical exotic
wagers like the exacta and trifecta.
For second place in the Los
Alamitos Futurity, I narrowly prefer the chances of #5 Journalism (6-1), an up-and-coming colt who rallied from midpack
to defeat Rank by 2 1/2 lengths in a one-mile maiden special weight at Del Mar
last month. The stoutly bred son of Curlin out of Mopotism has the pedigree to
improve with maturity, so I don't think we've seen his best yet.
Getaway Car also has a
strong chance to factor, but I do wonder if 1 1/16 miles is a hair farther than
he wants to run. I can envision a scenario in which Getaway Car runs well, but
tires late from battling with Gaming and gets nabbed for second place by
Journalism.
Selections
1st: Gaming (2-5)
2nd: Journalism (6-1)
3rd: Getaway Car (3-1)
Locks of the Week
Three favorites in
state-restricted stakes this week appear highly likely to visit the winner's
circle. There are no certainties in horse racing, but these short-priced
runners look like worthy singles for multi-race wagers.
In Friday's $50,000 Useeit
S. for Oklahoma-bred three-year-old fillies racing one mile at Remington Park, #8 Miss Code West (2-5) looms as a
standout. She boasts a 7-6-1-0 record at Remington, with her lone defeat coming
against non-state-restricted competition in the Remington Park Oaks. She beat
older Oklahoma-breds by four lengths in the Oklahoma Classics Distaff H. last
time out and has every chance to romp while returning to the three-year-old
ranks for the Useeit.
At Fair Grounds on Saturday,
#7 Secret Faith (7-5) ought to keep
her unbeaten record intact in the six-furlong Louisiana Champions Day Lassie S.
for Louisiana-bred juvenile fillies. She's 5-for-5 so far, with four stakes
wins under her belt, and she hasn't been remotely challenged in three starts
against Louisiana-bred rivals. She enters off an easy six-length score in the
Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial S. sprinting six furlongs at Fair Grounds and
should be good enough to take down recent Fair Grounds maiden winner #4 Blue Fire (9-5).
Why not single Secret Faith
to start a cold double wager ending with #6
Smoken Wicked (8-5) in Saturday's Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile S. for
Louisiana-bred two-year-olds at Fair Grounds? Smoken Wicked started his career
in a Louisiana-bred maiden special weight at Evangeline Downs, which he
dominated by 7 1/2 lengths. Then he recorded top-four finishers against non-state-restricted
competition in the Bashford Manor S., Saratoga Special (G2), Hopeful (G1), and
Champagne (G1).
Smoken Wicked recently
dropped in class for a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs,
which he wired by 8 1/4 lengths with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure and a 98 Brisnet
Speed rating. Anything close to a repeat of that performance should make Smoken
Wicked tough to beat while returning to the Louisiana-bred ranks at Fair
Grounds.
Now it's your turn! Who do
you like this week?
*****
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J. Keeler Johnson (also known as "Keelerman") is a writer, videographer, voice actor, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite.
