Maiden King

Maiden Claiming $32,000, 6 furlongs, 4 yo’s and up

Possible overlays                             Morning line

#1 Sailboat Sam                                       10/1
#2 Pacific Halo                                         6/1
#3 Voodoo’s Run                                       9/2
#4 Unusual Justin                                      6/1
#6 Mr. Rancho Vista                                 10/1
#7 Mossad                                                5/1
#10 Kaffeinator                                         7/2

This race is a bit tricky because six out of nine of the horses running are coming off of recent layoffs of four months or more.

Jockey Garrett Gomez rides #10 Kaffeinator, who is coming directly off a three-month freshening. Kaffeinator topped the 77 median Beyer Speed Figure needed to win this race four straight times. On June 18, Kaffeinator ran an 80 Beyer, then a 78  on July 24, an 80 on Aug. 25, and 79 his last time out Oct. 3. 

So, he’s been running well at higher claiming levels, but unfortunately a dominant horse showed up whenever he ran. Others here like #2 Pacific Halo, #3 Voodoo’s Run and #4 Unusual Justin ran Beyers in the low 70’s, but could easily improve to an 80.

Finally, #1 Sailboat Sam flashed good speed on Feb. 23, #6 Mr. Rancho Vista gets jockey Rafael Bejarano off a 15-month layoff and second-timer #7 Mossad drops down and shows lightning quick workouts for his comeback race.

One note about Mr. Rancho Vista is that his former trainer Patrick Gallagher doesn’t push his horses first or second time. So, today the horse is running off a long layoff in its third start with two dark running lines. The horse is now trained by Jerry Hollendorfer who may be hiding the horses ability with slow workouts. One clue that Mr. Rancho Vista might run well is that Bejarano is jumping off Voodoo’s Run.

In any event, I can see almost anything happening in this race, so I’ll make an odds line and play the tote board.

I will bet $200 on #10 Kaffeinator at 5/2 or better and $100 on both #7 Mossad at 6/1 or more and Mr. Rancho Vista at 7/1 or better.

But If Kaffeinator goes of at 2/1 or lower then I’ll put $150 on both #7 Mossad at 6/1 and Mr. Rancho Vista at 7/1; $100 on both #3 Voodoo’s Run and #4 Unusual Justin at 7/1 or better; and $100 on #1 Sailboat Sam and #2 Pacific Halo at 10/1 or more.

Although he’s been alive and well for 98 years, Hennessy — the cognac, not the sire — almost killed Eddie Logan on Saturday.

The 98-year-old iconic Santa Anita shoeshiner, and namesake for the Eddie Logan Stakes, has been at Santa Anita every opening day since the place began running on Christmas 1934.

But last Saturday, Logan drank some Hennessy cognac while on blood pressure medication and needed to be rushed to Arcadia Methodist Hospital where he was treated for a seizure.

At about 4 p.m. Saturday, Logan was sitting outside the window of Cece Connor, the paymaster of purses, “when I noticed him gasping. I called our first aid department, then 911.”

Santa Anita gift shop manager Christine Crocker said the apparent seizure was caused by Logan drinking his beloved Hennessy while blood pressure medication was in his system.

  “Although he knows better, Eddie has done this in the past and has said many times, ‘I’m going to go sometime, so it might as well be by doing something I like,” Crocker told CalRacing Stable Notes’ Ed Golden.

Logan spent Saturday night in intensive care, according to Crocker, but his family said he would be back to shining shoes at Santa Anita on Wednesday.

In 2006, the Hill Rise Stakes for two-year-olds was renamed the Eddie Logan Stakes. The well-loved shoe shine man typically greets customers and horseplayers strolling by his stand with “have a lucky day.”

I guess Saturday was Eddie Logan’s lucky day.