How to bet the 2022 Los Alamitos Derby
Slow Down Andy wins Los Almaitos Futurity (Photo by Benoit Photography)
July 9th, 2022
A compact field of five sophomores will travel 1 1/8 miles in Saturday’s $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby. Conditioner Doug O’Neill has a pair of players entered for the event led by #3 Slow Down Andy (8-5), the morning-line choice. By Nyquist, the Reddam Racing homebred capped off a smart, yet abbreviated two-year-old campaign with a strong one-length victory in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) on the course.
The chestnut colt didn’t factor in the especially deep Risen Star S. (G2) at Fair Grounds in his sophomore debut, but he made amends for that performance when taking the Sunland Derby (G3) in his initial try with blinkers on. Bred in the Golden State, the colt has been training in consistent fashion in advance of his return to the location of his best run to date, and I like his chances on Saturday. Regular pilot Mario Gutierrez will be in the silks.
Of the Baffert duo signed on for the tilt, I prefer #5 High Connection (2-1) to secure place honors and to complete the chalky exacta. Son of Connect was a $290,000 juvenile buy and left his mark at first asking when posting a 10-length sprint score at Santa Anita on March 26. The chestnut colt has finished runner-up in two subsequent outings, including a second in the recent Affirmed S. (G3), and I will tab him to move forward off of that showing in his local bow.
High Connection possesses good early speed and I expect him to be sent from the start to take command early under Juan Hernandez. The lightly raced colt will be fully fit while making his third lifetime route race, and the Kentucky-bred makes a lot of sense to me on Saturday.
#1 Win the Day (10-1) rallied for a solid fourth in the Texas Derby last time out against a few nice ones. Also trained by O’Neill, the gelded son of Midshipman has shown improvement since being moved to the dirt three back and comes with good value in the tilt. The dark bay will save ground all the way around the oval beneath Herrera.
Los Alamitos Derby Wagers
- $32 trifecta 3 with 5 with 1 ($32)
- $8 trifecta 3 with 1 with 5 ($8)
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