How to bet the 2023 Daisycutter Handicap

The feature race on Friday at Del Mar is the $100,000 Daisycutter H. for fillies and mares sprinting five furlongs on turf. It’s not a graded stakes, but the field has come up strong.

The morning line favorite is #1 Twilight Gleaming (2-1), who conquered male rivals in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G2) over this course and distance. Sprinting five furlongs over the Del Mar lawn is clearly a strong suit for this Wesley Ward trainee, who won the 2022 Daisycutter by half a length over #6 Xmas Surprise (12-1).

Twilight Gleaming exits a 16th-place finish in the King’s Stand (G1) against males at Royal Ascot, but dropping in class and returning to the U.S. can trigger a rebound. She kicked off 2023 with a flashy 1 1/2-length score in the 5 1/2-furlong Giant’s Causeway S. at Keeneland and looms as a logical win threat while breaking from the rail post, which produced 29% winners in five-furlong turf sprints during the Del Mar autumn meet.

But Twilight Gleaming faces a formidable rival in the form of #5 Amy C (5-2), who is 3-for-3 sprinting on the California circuit. After winning the Senator Ken Maddy S. and Las Cienegas (G3) at Santa Anita, Amy C shipped to Belmont Park for the six-furlong Intercontinental (G3) and finished third by less than one length.

Five furlongs might be a bit short for Amy C, whose signature victories have come traveling about 6 1/2 furlongs over Santa Anita’s downhill turf course. But she has hot jockey Umberto Rispoli in the saddle, and the abundance of speed horses entered in the Daisycutter (including Twilight Gleaming) should ensure that Amy C receives a hot pace beneficial to her midpack rallying style.

The latter point bears repeating. Six of the 10 horses in the Daisycutter field have shown a tendency to race on or near the lead. That includes Melody of Colors S. winner #3 Sassy Nature (10-1), a remarkably fast three-year-old breaking from right outside Twilight Gleaming. If Twilight Gleaming wants to assume her customary position on or near the lead, she’ll have to sprint hard early on, potentially setting up the race for Amy C.

We’ll plan our plays accordingly, betting Amy C to win before keying her over Twilight Gleaming in a cold exacta.

Daisycutter wagers

$20 to win on #5 Amy C
$10 Exacta: 5 with 1
Total: $30

Good luck!