I am going to try to attack the Del Mar card early as I try to get the weekend off to a profitable start. The plan will be to try to put together a pick three and a couple of daily doubles to get the ball rolling and not have to say, “What was I thinking?” come Monday. Race 1 (8) General Anne (ML 5-2): Lost a tough decision back on June 26th at Belmont. That was the 1st race after a claim by Danny Gargan from top NY turf trainer Chad Brown. Now trained by R B Hess Jr. for her 1st start in S. Cal, this consistent grass runner has been placed in a good spot and appears to be a strong contender. She has tactical speed and is proven to be competitive routing on the turf. (6) Lirica Heart (Arg) (ML 15-1): Back with Barry Abrams after spending the early summer trying to break her maiden in $40K claiming races at Belmont may offer some good exotic value as Gonzalez chooses her over (5) Birthday Song. Gonzalez, who has started the Del Mar meet with a bang, is 5 for 15 with turf runners for Abrams over the last 6 months with an ROI of $6.86. As the lone maiden in the field she figures to be a good price. (2) Vow Me Over (ML 3-1): 2nd off a layoff and back to the grass, which seems to be her preferred surface. Best races have come down the hill at Santa Anita sprinting. Gets Bejarano who was on her for 3 of her better races including her lone win. Should sit a good trip (4) An Unusual Group (ML 8-1): Beaten favorite in last where she had showed some run late against a wire to wire winner and galloped out OK. Beyers are competitive, and in the past 3 years Mike Puype has won at a 19% rate with a $2.50 ROI when bringing turf horses back in 31-60 days. If she goes off at anything near the 8-1 morning line she will be offering value. The play: 8 to win at 2-1 or better. Exacta: 8/2-4-6 and reverse for half DD: 8/2-5-8         8-2-4/8-2 :: See Lonnie Goldfeder’s pick three play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets Race 2 (8) Bellamy Concerto (ML 5-2): Bred to sprint on dirt. Started out career in 2 dirt sprints with little success. Since then was put on grass where he ran adequately but never was able to break his maiden. His best race (an 80 Beyer) came in an off the turf affair at Santa Anita on 2/22/15. After a month layoff he was entered in a dirt route where he showed good speed leading into the stretch and tiring to 5th equaling that 80 Beyer. With this experience under his belt he drops a bit in class to a distance at which he finally should be ready to excel. (2) Carson City Five (ML 6-1): Dam was a stakes winner who ran a 103 Beyer sprinting and is a half to Gibson County, who ran multiple races with Beyers over 100 included a career best 106. In the past 2 years Baffert is only 4/22 (18%) with horses debuting on dirt at 6 furlongs with an ROI of $1.27. However, when a horse has a pedigree like this, in a field with no standouts, the entry has to be a must use. (5) Travel Bound (ML 7-2): Well bet in his debut, he broke a bit slowly and ran a respectable race with no impact on the result. 2nd out he stumbled early and never got involved. After that race he was gelded and when he came back at a mile on 7/9/15 he broke sharply and was competitive. In the past year Glatt is 5/14 (36%) when going route to sprint with an ROI of $3.68. The drop in class should help and if he can break well again he will be competitive. The play: 8 to win at 5-2 or better Exacta: 8/2-5 and reverse for half DD: 2-8/6-9 Race 3 (6) True History (ML 3-1): Since switching to turf on 3/26/15 at Gulfstream her Beyer Figures jumped dramatically indicating that this is her preferred surface. Beaten by a rival who had a better trip 2 back this filly is knocking on the door and is more than capable of getting it done in this race. (9) Asparagus (ML 6-1): Daughter of Kitten’s Joy should be set to fire 3rd off the layoff with Van Dyke back aboard. Chased late on the wrong lead in last 2 but still galloped out well in both showing that she has room for improvement. Guaranteed to be running late, and if the front-runners tire she could be a major player at a price. (3) My Sweet Afleet (ML 8-1): The return to turf and the cutback to a mile from her last turf effort should suit her well. Would not be surprised to see her try to get the lead and dictate the pace. If she does she has chance to take them wire to wire. (2) Blind Dreams (ML 6-1): Outran her odds last out setting a slow pace and almost wiring the field in her turf debut. If allowed to do that again she could be dangerous with the cutback to a mile. That said, her performance will likely rest on the strategies of (3) My Sweet Afleet and (4) Summer Veil, who although not particularly bred for turf could have impact on pace. (5) Mango Reward (ML 7-2): Richard Baltas is 3/13 (23%) with an ROI of $3.40 over the last 4 years 1st off of a trainer switch on turf. Mango Reward came very close to getting her 2nd win in both of her last starts going 1 mile on the turf at the $25K claiming level. Her Beyer numbers make her competitive in this spot and she has the tactical speed to make 1st run at the front-runners down the stretch. The play: 9 to win at 5-1 or Better Exacta box: 6-9 Trifecta key: 6-9/2-3-5-6-9