We have a fairly big day for racing on a Monday thanks to the holiday. There are only two stakes races to note, a $100,000 event at Aqueduct Racetrack and a small $75,000 race at Santa Anita Park. We’re out west in California for both of our cards on Presidents’ Day. Along with Santa Anita Park operating, you can find Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley with some action. It was a booming day on Sunday, as we closed out the weekend in fine form with five winners in six selections between Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. That was an all-Florida Sunday, and hopefully we can do the same on an all-California Sunday between Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields.
$25 Risk-Free Horse Racing Bet!
Santa Anita Park has a total of eight races expected to be on Monday with a total of $406,000 in prize money available. You can find more horse racing picks on the Golden Gate Fields page at TheSportsGeek. Head below for our free Santa Anita Park picks for February 15, 2021.
Race 3
Post Time: 1:36 p.m. PST
Distance:1 Mile
Purse:$36,000
We will start with Race 3 at Santa Anita Park, a mile race for a $36,000 purse on the turf. Colombian Gold and Lavender should have quality runs for the top prize in Race 3. Colombian Gold is 2 for 13 in her career. In her most recent win, Colombian Gold beat Lady Noguez by a head in a $38,000 race on October 2.
Since that win, she showed 3rd in a $43,000 event on November 15. In her most recent performance, Colombian Gold finished 6th in a $42,000 event. She drops in class to the $36,000 level on Monday, and should do better in this assignment. Expect Colombian Gold to have to deal with Lavender in the stretch run. Lavender is 2 for 14 in her career, with some decent form recently.
She has finished 1st, 4th, 4th, 3rd in her career. In her last win, Lavender cleared Quiet Secretary by ¾ lengths in a $33,000 event. Lavender most recently showed 3rd on January 22 in another $33,000 outing. She is coming off a promising workout on February 6 with a time of 49.80 seconds at 4 furlongs. Expect Lavender to come up strongly in the stretch run on the grass.
Race 4
Post Time: 2:08 p.m. PST
Distance:6 Furlongs
Purse:$39,000
Race 4 sets up a 6-furlong race on the main track for a $39,000 purse. Six horses are expected to participate, with C’Mon Jenna and Herd Immunity on my shortlist. C’Mon Jenna has been up and down throughout his career, with some really nice and bad spots. He’s won two of six events, though those are the only two races that C’Mon Jenna has finished in the top-3.
C’Mon Jenna is coming off a win on January 28 over Float On by ¾ lengths in a $17,000 event. It was a strong performance from C’Mon Jenna, but she is going to have to keep it up and improve on Monday to win. At 6/1 morning-line odds, C’Mon Jenna might be worth a look in this assignment.
Herd Immunity drops big in class after running in stakes races, including a Grade 3 and Grade 2 event. He has finished 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th in his previous four entries. In his only non-stakes race, Herd Immunity beat Sonic Brees by 1 ¾ lengths in a $50,000 event in June.
Following that impressive showing, Herd Immunity went straight to stakes racing, but struggled there. He’s back down in class after finishing 9th in the $100,000 Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes on September 7. Herd Immunity gets a transfer from Del Mar to Santa Anita for a $39,000 race, which should be much easier for him. I’d back Herd Immunity to win.
Race 7 – Wishing Well Stakes
Post Time: 3:46 p.m. PST
Distance:6 ½ Furlongs
Purse:$75,000
The feature race, and one of two stakes races in the US on Monday, the running of the Wishing Well Stakes is a $75,000 contest. Two quality horses are participating, with Oleksandra and Lighthouse meeting in a rematch of the $100,000 Las Cienegas Stakes (Gr. 3) on January 9. Oleksandra lost a rider, while Lighthouse was disqualified under controversial terms. A slight bump gave Lighthouse a DQ in the Las Cienegas Stakes.
Oleksandra was in fine form in eight straight performances, which included five wins from May 24, 2019 to June 20, 2020. After winning the $250,000 Jaipur Stakes (Gr. 1) on June 20, Oleksandra hasn’t been the same. She was banged up in that race and bumped early. While Oleksandra won by a neck in the $250,000 event, she required minor surgery following the race after the early collision.
Oleksandra hasn’t been the same since, finishing 9th in the $1,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (Gr. 1) after starting slow and never recovering. And then she didn’t finish on January 9 after she tossed Joel Rosario. This would be an easy win for Oleksandra if we knew she was at 100%. The injury in the Jaipur might have been worse than we thought, though, as far as her racing future is concerned.
Lighthouse is 3 for 8 in her career, finishing 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 5th in her previous five. If she wasn’t DQ’d from the Las Cienegas, Lighthouse would have been top-3 in five straight. That was a questionable call to disqualify her. In her most recent win, Lighthouse beat Miss J Mckay by 1 ½ lengths in the $400,000 Music City Stakes. I’m on Lighthouse over Oleksandra, who is trying to figure things out at the moment.
