The horse to key in Sunday's six-figure carryovers at Pleasanton

Editor's note: This article indicated there would be a mandatory payout at Pleasanton when it will actually carry over to Golden Gate as the next track of the California State Fair meet. We apologize for the mistake and will more carefully review for future publications.

Get ready, folks! Not one, but two six-figure carryovers are slated for mandatory dispersal on Sunday at Pleasanton.

The 16-day meet reaches its final afternoon with a $175,972 carryover in the 20-cent Gold Rush Pick 6 (Race 2, 6:17 p.m. ET) and a $191,366 carryover in the 20-cent Gold Strike Super High Five (Race 7, 8:47 p.m. ET).

Both carryovers come to a head in the seventh and final race of the day, a $4,000 starter allowance for older horses racing one mile and 70 yards. Naturally, this is the most important race for bettors pursuing both prize pools to decipher.

On paper, the fastest horse is #7 Unpossible (7-2). The six-year-old gelding was a gate-to-wire winner over this track and class level on July 4, putting up an 83 Brisnet Speed rating that stands as the highest last-out figure earned by any of Sunday’s competitors.

But Unpossible benefited from securing an uncontested lead, carving out splits of :24.80, :49.36, and 1:13.29 while facing just four rivals. Down the lane, he was all-out to hold off #6 Sunny Spot (5-1) by half a length.

There’s more speed entered in Sunday’s field, with #2 My Sunshine (3-1) looming as another serious pace player after wiring a $4,000 claimer over this track and distance on June 26. If My Sunshine keeps Unpossible honest up front, then Sunny Spot can turn the tables and prevail at a nice price.

It’s safe to say Sunny Spot loves Pleasanton, where he’s compiled an excellent 6-2-2-1 resume. Two starts back, he employed pace-tracking tactics to win a different $4,000 starter allowance at Pleasanton, edging #1 Purr Cat (5-1) by one length.

The biggest obstacle standing between Sunny Spot and the winner’s circle might be morning line favorite #4 Union Leader (2-1), who produced a determined rally to win an $8,000 claimer at Pleasanton 15 days ago. Conditioned by hot trainer Tirso Rivera, the son of Unionize is a strong finisher, but lacks the tactical speed of Sunny Spot, and hasn’t run as fast on the Brisnet Speed rating scale.

I’m optimistic Sunny Spot can spring a surprise, so we’ll play the race accordingly. Pick 6 players can single Sunny Spot to conclude the sequence, while Super High 5 players can key Sunny Spot on top of the ~$15 ticket outlined below:

20-cent Super High 5: 6 with 1,2,4,7 with 1,2,4,7 with 1,2,4,5,7 with 1,2,4,5,7 ($14.40)

Good luck!