Use Twirling Candy with “The Other Dude”

• Who: Thoroughbreds – Deputy Daney, Toby’s Corner, May Day Rose, Caracortado, Twirling Candy, Game On Dude
• What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Tom Fool, The Gotham, The Santa Anita Oaks, The Frank E. Kilroe Mile, The Santa Anita Handicap
• Where: Aqueduct, Santa Anita
• When: Saturday, March 5th

It’s hard not to love the chances of Twirling Candy in Saturday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, but his odds will be minuscule. Perhaps keying him in exactas and tri’s over a horse like Game On Dude will give us a solid return on our investment. More on “The Big ‘Cap” and “The Other Dude” later; first, let’s take a look at the other stakes action at Aqueduct and Santa Anita on Saturday.

In The Tom Fool at Aqueduct, the Todd Pletcher/Repole Stable entry of Have You Ever and Calibrachoa would appear to have their competition over a barrel. Have You Ever will serve as the rabbit, and Calibrachoa should have clear sailing from his outside post to nail the speed late. Not so fast, however…we could be looking at the speed-of-the-speed in Deputy Daney. He’s broken on top in his last three starts and is two-for-two on the Aqueduct Inner Dirt…both front-running stakes scores. He also attracts the talented Jeremy Rose for this engagement. I’ll pick Deputy Daney (Morning Line 5-1) to upset the entry at odds of 9-2 or better.

Stay Thirsty is getting most of the attention in The Gotham, but he may need the race after a four-month hiatus. I like the way Toby’s Corner is coming along. His Beyer Speed Figures have improved each time out (57, 81, 82, 88), and he’s winning despite racing greenly at times. Once again, I’ll go against the Pletcher chalk and bet Toby’s Corner to win at odds of 2-1 or higher.

Switching to Santa Anita, we’ll start off with The Santa Anita Oaks. Zazu and Turbulent Descent appear hard to separate. Trainer Mike Puype blames himself for Turbulent Descent’s loss last out to rival Zazu, indicating that he didn’t have his filly fit enough. Nevertheless, I’ll be looking for the upset with the front-running May Day Rose. Her chances were severely compromised in The Las Virgenes when she dueled for the lead in ridiculously fast fractions (:21 2/5 and :44 1/5). The pace in this race won’t be anywhere near that fast, and she could be long gone. I’ll bet on May Day Rose to win at odds of 9-2 or better.

Caracortado has developed into a top turf horse as a 4YO. He’ll get a decent pace in The Frank E. Kilroe Mile to set up his powerful late run. I’ll bet on Caracortado (Scar Face) to win at odds of 6-5 or better

That brings us back to The Big ‘Cap. Workout warrior First Dude has been training up a storm for new conditioner Bob Baffert. He’ll be the “wise guy” horse in this race, which should give us a bit more value on budding superstar Twirling Candy. I fully expect him to win once again in dominating fashion. “The Other Dude” in Baffert’s stable, Game On Dude, is likely to be overlooked in the betting. It’s interesting that jockey John Velazquez makes the cross-country trip to ride this horse for the first time. Game On Dude won his comeback race handily, and is bred to handle the 1 ¼-mile distance. He continues to train well, and gets in light at 115 lbs. I’ll use Game On Dude underneath Twirling Candy in the exacta, and in both the second and third slots in the tri’s.

Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!