Betting the Breeders’ Cup Saturday All-Turf Pick 4

If you like betting turf races, you’ll want to play the All-Turf Pick 4 during Breeders’ Cup Saturday at Santa Anita.

The 50-cent wager encompasses four ultra-competitive Breeders’ Cup races with large fields and lots of viable win contenders. To be exact, the sequence includes the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (Race 4), the Breeders’ Cup Mile (Race 6), the Breeders’ Cup Turf (Race 8), and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (Race 10).

Let’s check out each race and play two tickets for less than $50:

Race 4: Filly & Mare Turf (G1, 1 1/4 miles)

A strong European contingent has turned out for the Filly & Mare Turf. #2 Warm Heart (3-1) is cutting back from 1 1/2 miles after winning the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) and Prix Vermeille (G1) in succession. #6 Inspiral (5-2) is stretching out off victories in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay Le Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) and Sun Chariot (G1) racing one mile.

We’ll use these two plus two others. Japanese hopeful #5 Win Marilyn (20-1) beat males in the Hong Kong Vase (G1) last December and is a live longshot on her best day, while American hopeful #9 Didia (8-1) recently finished fast to win the Rodeo Drive (G2) over the Breeders’ Cup course and distance.

Race 6: Mile (G1, one mile)

The Mile is where we’ll take a stand with a single. #10 Songline (5-2) is Japan’s top miler after winning back-to-back editions of the Yasuda Kinen (G1). The stretch-running mare routinely sprints her final 600 meters (about three furlongs) in :33.5 or less and also showed sufficient speed to beat the multiple Grade 1-winning U.S. sprinter/miler #3 Casa Creed (8-1) in last year’s 1351 Turf Sprint Cup (G3) traveling about 6 1/2 furlongs in Saudi Arabia.

Songline looks like the best horse entered in the Mile, and her terrific homestretch acceleration can win the day.

Race 8: Turf (G1, 1 1/2 miles)

Derby (G1) and Irish Derby (G1) winner #5 Auguste Rodin (3-1) has been specifically pointed to the Turf and looms as a versatile and formidable contender for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who has won the Turf a record six times. But Auguste Rodin has been known to badly misfire on occasion, so singling him in the All-Turf Pick 4 could be a risky strategy.

#2 Onesto (8-1) hasn’t run much this season and exits a strong third in the prestigious Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), so he’s a must-use live longshot. #9 Mostahdaf (5-2) loves firm turf and beat strong competition in the Prince of Wales’s (G1) and Juddmonte International (G1) this year, so we have to include him even though he’s done his best work over distances shorter than 1 1/2 miles.

We’ll also toss #1 Shahryar (15-1) into the mix. The Japanese raider loves 1 1/2 miles and firm turf, and he’s had surgery to correct a breathing issue since finishing a subpar 11th in the Sapporo Kinen (G2) during the summer. A rebound at enticing odds could be in the offing.

Race 10: Turf Sprint (G1, five furlongs)

#5 Live In The Dream (9-2), who wired a strong field in England’s five-furlong Nunthorpe (G1) during the summer, is the slim morning line favorite after finishing fourth in Keeneland’s 5 1/2-furlong Woodford (G2). Making his North American debut, Live In The Dream set blazing fractions of :20.97 and :43.67 before weakening in the final furlong. Cutting back to five furlongs at Santa Anita should make him tough to catch.

But there are other viable win contenders. #9 Roses for Debra (12-1) is 4-for-4 on firm and good turf courses and figures to relish the firm going at Santa Anita. #10 Motorious (5-1) hasn’t missed the trifecta since arriving in North America and exits a decisive victory in the five-furlong Green Flash H. (G3) at Del Mar. And let’s not overlook Japanese raider #11 Jasper Krone (12-1), a speedster coming off a respectable fourth-place finish against a large field in the Sprinters (G1).

• 50-cent All-Turf Pick 4: 2,5,6,9 with 10 with 1,2,5,9 with 5,9,10,11 ($32)
• $1 All-Turf Pick 4: 2,6 with 10 with 2,5 with 5,9,10,11 ($16)
  Total: $48

Good luck!