Los Alamitos: Horses to play in the $56,126 Pick 6 carryover

Have you heard the news? Sunday is closing day of the Los Alamitos Thoroughbred meet, and there’s a $56,126 Pick 6 carryover slated for mandatory payout.

The sequence kicks off in Race 6 at 6:05 p.m. ET, and assembling a winning play won’t be easy. The minimum bet amount is $2, and there are 44 entries (averaging 7.3 per race) equating to 126,720 possible outcomes. To play them all would cost $253,440.

Fortunately, the Pick 6 contains a viable single and a live longshot worth building tickets around:

Best single: Race 8, $20,000 Maiden Claiming (one mile): #6 Sippin N Kissin (2-1)

Sippin N Kissin ran deceptively well in a seven-furlong dash over this class level at Del Mar last month. The three-year-old gelding didn’t have anywhere to run when trapped behind rivals down the homestretch, but stayed on well to finish fourth by 2 1/2 lengths, earning a career-best 80 Brisnet Speed rating.

It turns out Sippin N Kissin squared off against some tough competition, as both the runner-up and the third-place finisher returned to win their next start. The highest Brisnet Speed rating posted by any horse in Sunday’s field is an 81, so if Sippin N Kissin gets a clean run under apprentice jockey Armando Aguilar (who rides with a 10-pound weight allowance), he can cruise to victory as a Pick 6 single.

Live longshot: Race 10, Capote S. (6 1/2 furlongs): #4 Man Child (6-1)

Many bettors will be tempted to single #1 Massimo (1-1), a Bob Baffert trainee exiting a couple of placed efforts against quality maiden special weight competition at Del Mar. But #4 Man Child (6-1) has run almost as fast on the Brisnet Speed rating scale, and he’s done so while facing tougher competition.

Man Child led from start to finish when debuting in a five-furlong maiden special weight at Los Alamitos, then came back to run strongly in the six-furlong Best Pal S. (G3) at Del Mar. The Best Pal saw Man Child duel eventual winner Havnameltdown through an opening quarter-mile in :21.74 before staying on to finish third in a large field. This performance was flattered when Havnameltdown returned to finish a good second in the Del Mar Futurity (G1).

Man Child raced with blinkers in his first two starts, but he’ll drop them for the Capote, setting the stage for a more relaxed journey. At 6-1 in a five-horse field, Man Child has the appearance of an enticing longshot play.

Good luck!