Return of the Quills
With Del Mar opening up yesterday as well as all the big races that occurred, sometimes my personal timing stinks. That’s what happened to me the last few days. I had two days off from here as I missed two days of work after getting an emergency root canal on Friday morning. I was suffering all day on Thursday and didn’t even stream my regular show on my streaming platforms. Then I was a scratch for the “Also Eligible” show that I have on Saturday mornings, which surely would have mentioned at the very least that it was opening day at Del Mar along with all the big races at Monmouth Park and elsewhere.
The timing really stunk because this was an episode that I was looking forward to since the Kentucky Derby. It was Haskell Day, and I could hear AJ’s “knock knock” drop being played non-stop during our show as we probably talked about him winning the Haskell like he did today. But instead, I ended up catching up on sleep while getting all the facial pains and headaches to disappear.
But I am back today and by the team you read this, I’m probably plugged in to work after missing two days. I’m also ready to look at today’s race that I am featuring for today’s Quills Picks Winners.
Del Mar Race 9 – Wickerr Stakes
With the Daily Racing Form going with a five-horse race for their race, I have once again made the executive decision of veering away from there with a featured race from Del Mar, who opened their summer season yesterday. Today’s race is the Wickerr Stakes, which is a one-mile race on the turf. We have a later start today, as this race will go to the post around 9:14 pm Eastern time. So cue Bing Crosby’s “Where the Turf Meets the Surf” as we feature Del Mar for the first time in 2024.
Favored in this race at Del Mar is the 4 First Peace (5/2 morning line). He finished third in a turf sprint allowance last time out at Santa Anita, which was probably a race where the connections wanted to get a race in before they had the desert of no turf racing as Southern California went to Los Alamitos, which does not have a turf course.
First Peace will be close to the pace. He has one win in four tries with a second and a third, but I think this colt could be beaten here today.
You can toss the last race from Ah Jeez (#5, 15/1 ML). The race was taken off the turf at Churchill Downs at the end of May and has been waiting to return to the turf. He was close in his last three mile races at Santa Anita, and he could be on the board at a huge price.
The 3 Almendares (7/2 ML) finished third in the Daytona at Santa Anita going down the hill. He has a win and a second going a mile in his two races at today’s distance. He could get the opportunity to close here and pass the front runners in the stretch.
The 7 Flashiest (12/1 ML) will also enjoy having targets to run at as they turn for home here. He won going a mile last time out, and though it was almost two years ago, he did finish second on the Grade 2 San Gabriel on the grass going longer. He could be flying at a nice price as well.
The 8 Conclude (6/1 ML) did not show much at Santa Anita in a Grade 1, but he could bounce back. The best thing that they could do with this horse is rate, like he did in last year’s Oceanside at Del Mar, but if he goes with the speed up front, he will be finishing at the back of the pack.
I think that we could have a nice priced winner here from one of the longer plays here. There is a lot of speed and I would love a longshot, especially mine, in Del Mar’s Online Handicapping Challenge. They are only one day into their 31-day race meet, so plenty of time to register on their website. I went 1 for 2 yesterday on their opening day.
I’m going to go with Flashiest here. Yes, he has run against less in optional allowance company for the last year and a half or so. Also, the home stretch at Del Mar is fairly short in distance. But things could set up very nicely for him here in his return to stakes company here. I will call this 7-5-3-8 and my play is $20 to win on the 7. Good luck everyone and I’m glad to be back handicapping the races for you again!
Check out my show “Also Eligible” on Saturday mornings at 10 am Eastern/7 am Pacific on the Bleacher Brothers’ Facebook, X, Twitch and YouTube accounts as AJ Johnson and I discuss the big races, the latest news in horse racing and much more!