Free Picks For Del Mar -8/2/20

Race 3 - Graduation Stakes (Purse -$100,000)

This five-and-one-half furlong sprint is for Golden State Series Eligible California Bred Or California Sired 2-Year-Olds with seven male participants. This is an excellent field of youngsters and I believe that there are four horses that could win the event. #1 Good With People has excellent speed and will likely battle #5 Positivity for the lead in the early going. Good With People is coming off an outstanding debut as the only trouble that he encountered was at the beginning where he brushed with a foe but the son of Curlin Mischief bounced back and set the pace of the race before easing to a three-length victory in a special weight race. Positively also eased to a victory in his debut at Santa Anita but we will see how he runs following a two-month break. Like the other two horses, #3 Touchdown Brown won his career-opener but the son of Cairo Prince did it in a little different fashion as he came off the pace to blow by his competitors and win by five-lengths.#7 Rantaan has hit the board in each of his last two starts and should be involved in this one as well.

Picks: I like an exacta box of #1, #5, #3.

Race 8 - Allowance Optional Claiming $40,000 (Purse - $57,000)

This five-and-one-half furlong should also be outstanding and will include eight male runners. #2 Silardi returns to the grass after finishing in the mile-long $100,000 Runhappy Oceanside Stakes though he did lead the event before weakening. The gelded son of City Zip has won both of his races at the current distance. #1 Oil Can Knight had been racing splendidly before his last outing where he was squeezed at the start and then eased up before ultimately giving way in a six-and-one-half furlong event against $62,500 claimers on June 14. Edwin Maldonado, who has cashed in four of six rides including one win on Saturday, gets the ride on the son of Can The Man who has been training well recently. #7 Drop The Chalupa has been training well since a nice fourth-place showing against $80,000 optional claimers back on May 15. #6 Microrithms is the fastest of the competitors in the field and has finished in the money in five of six career events, which includes posting a career-high ESpeed of 114 while defeating $62,500 optional claimers. But the 6-year-son of Algorithms has not raced since January 2019, although he did fare well the last time he had over a year between races -- narrowly missing out of the top spot, by a neck.

Picks: I like a show bet on the #7 I also like an exacta box bet of #2, #7, #1, #6.

Race 10 - Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (Purse - $250,000)

Six fillies and mares are slated to go one and one-sixteenth miles. I expect that this to be an excellent race with #6 Fighting Mad and #3 Hard Not to Love battling for supremacy. Fighting Mad followed an excellent showing in the Grade 3 Desert Stormer Stakes with a near-perfect outing to win the Grade 2 Santa Anita Derby 14 days later at the end of May as he won the event by over three lengths -- besting two competitors in this race Hard Not to Love and Ce Ce. The 4-year-old Kentucky filly, trained by Bob Baffert, has won four of seven career events which include one victory at the current distance. Hard Not to Love has spent his last four races on the stakes circuit and faring quite well, placing in the top 3 in all four events including two wins. While the Ontario filly -- a daughter of Hard Spun -- has come up short in her last two outings, she does have victories in the Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes as well as the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes. I also expect the battle for third and fourth to be fierce between #1 Hand a Star, #2 Ce Ce, and #5 Ollie’s Candy.

Picks: I like an exacta box of #6, #3.