LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. – Short fields and short prices are standard fare Sunday at Los Alamitos, where 59 horses entered nine races. The field size might not preclude a price play, however. Race 1: Underlay = Overlay Wrightwood is 7-5 to win the opener, a one-mile maiden race. If he runs to his figures, the race is all but history. Wrightwood’s back-to-back 90-plus Beyer Speed Figures tower over his rivals, and each start is better than the one before. It is obvious stuff. But the knocks on the “most probable” winner are significant. Wrightwood has broken slowly all four starts. As a result, it remains unclear if he has tactical speed. Most winners the first three days at Los Alamitos were forwardly placed. And finally, trainer Mike Harrington is in the middle of an uncharacteristic slump. Make no mistake. Wrightwood can win. He is this handicapper’s top choice. The knock is 7-5 odds. That is an underlay for reasons above. And when the favorite is an underlay, overlays sometimes are created elsewhere. Beach Fever is 8-1. He is an upset candidate making his second career start. He worked well into his debut but lacked speed and was not aggressively ridden. He raced evenly, as if the race was nothing more than a schooling exercise. Call it what you want. Beach Fever has posted two solid works since that six-furlong spin. Although it is difficult to win a route second out after just one sprint prep, the price warrants the risk. Beach Fever might not win the race, but if he starts at 5-1 or higher, he is worth a shot. Race 5: Maiden alibi Two Six Wins finished last by more than 15 lengths in his debut. The 2-year-old colt was the 9-5 second choice in a race won by the promising 2-year-old Story to Tell. So what happened to Two Six Wins? Trainer Mike Pender hopes he has an alibi. “He was a rocket ship from the gate [in workouts] with older horses,” Pender said. “But they ‘eared’ him going to the gate [in the race], and it kind of threw him off. The gates opened, he just kind of stood there, and then he grabbed the bit and ran off.” In other words, it was a debacle. Pender removes blinkers for the colt’s second start. He believes it will make him easier to load, though he admits, “The jury is still out how much heart he has.” Two Six Wins is owned by Frank Fazio and partners. Fazio is an agent who represents a group of organized volleyball players that play and practice on the beach at Del Mar at 26th Street. Their chant is “2-6 wins!” after the name of the street. Two Six Wins, a son of Midshipman, is No. 5 in the program. He shipped Saturday from Santa Anita to Los Alamitos, and Pender said he shipped like a pro. They’ll have to catch him to beat him. Race 9: Chalky dropper Cuneo gets nervous and washes out. He did it again Saturday, when he and stablemate Two Six Wins shipped from Santa Anita to Los Alamitos. Cuneo was disheveled again. “He even washed out on the wash rack and schooling,” trainer Mike Pender said. Maybe that explains the class drop Sunday. “There were nine claims in for him last time,” Pender noted. Pender won the shake, reclaiming the gelding for $16,000. On Sunday in race 9, Cuneo is entered for half that price. He is the 9-5 favorite in the $8,000 claiming route. He should win. That simple declaration applies to most class-drop favorites – they should win. In a theoretical sense, Cuneo is the type of horse one should avoid. Betting on short-price droppers is a losing proposition, long term, even if Cuneo is the most likely winner.