Santa Anita: Betting the $13,859 Super High 5 carryover

If you want to win a share of Friday’s $13,859 Super High 5 carryover at Santa Anita, you’ll have to decipher a race filled entirely with first-time starters.

The prize pool for the $1 wager is up for grabs in Race 1 (post time 4:00 p.m. ET), a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for California-bred two-year-olds. None of the seven entrants have raced, so we’ll have to rely on trainer stats and workouts to guide our handicapping.

Here are some key stats pertaining to each horse:

#1 R Heisman (5-2): Enters off back-to-back bullet three-furlong workouts for trainer Luis Mendez, who has gone 5-for-21 (24%) debuting juveniles during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita since 2019.

#2 Mr. Machupicchu (4-1): Has cranked out seven timed workouts for trainer Jeff Bonde, who has gone 3-for-9 (33%) with juveniles debuting during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita since 2019. Three of the beaten runners finished second.

#3 Keep Dancin Nick (6-1): Recent half-mile workouts have been on the slow side, and trainer Steve Miyadi has gone only 1-for-8 (13%) debuting two-year-olds during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita since 2019.

#4 Bodacious (5-1): Trainer Jorge Periban wins at a 19% rate with first-time starters and has gone 2-for-9 (22%) saddling unraced juveniles during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita since 2019. A couple of solid half-mile workouts from the starting gate add to the appeal.

#5 A Votre Sante (8-1): Eight timed workouts (including three furlongs from the starting gate in :36 3/5) are nice to see. But trainer Adam Kitchingman wins only 8% of the time with first-time starters, and since 2019 his lone juvenile debuting during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita finished out of the money.

#6 How About Pavel (2-1): A flashy work tab including half a mile from the Santa Anita starting gate in :48 2/5 is eye-catching, and trainer Doug O’Neill has done well debuting two-year-olds during the first five months of the year at Santa Anita since 2019, going 6-for-21 (29%).

#7 Sir Nano (15-1): Hasn’t been working especially fast, and trainer Ruben Gomez has gone 0-for-20 with first-time starters in recent years. None of the 20 finished in the top three.

Based on the above stats, R Heisman, Mr. Machupicchu, and How About Pavel loom as the key contenders. We’ll count on one to win and the others to finish in the top four while rounding out our tickets with Bodacious, Keep Dancin Nick, and A Votre Sante:

• $1 Super High 5: 1,2,6 with 1,2,6 with 1,2,6 with 3,4 with 3,4,5 ($24)
• $1 Super High 5: 1,2,6 with 1,2,6 with 3,4 with 1,2,6 with 3,4,5 ($24)
• $1 Super High 5: 1,2,6 with 4 with 1,2,6 with 1,2,6 with 3,5 ($12)
  Total: $60

Good luck!