Upsets Leave Hefty Pick Six

It didn’t take long for Santa Anita to get its first pick six carry-over.

Visitors to the Arcadia track will have a hefty $192,902.75 awaiting them on the second day of the long winter-spring meet, thanks primarily to upsets by Diamant ($37.20) and Mizzen Mast ($16) in the Malibu Stakes on Wednesday.

Given the sizes of the fields and the competitive nature of the races, there could well be a double carry-over Saturday.

Seventy-seven horses were entered in the pick six races today. The smallest lineup is 10 for either half of the $150,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes.

Trainer Paco Gonzalez will try to sweep the female and male versions of the race with Fragrant Cloud and Earl Of Danby, respectively.

Owned and bred by John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery, Fragrant Cloud, a 2-year-old daughter of Smokester, won her sprint debut by 41/2 lengths over this track in October, then lost by a head as the 3-5 favorite in the California Cup Juvenile Fillies a month later. Alex Solis will ride again.

In the male division, Earl Of Danby, also owned and bred by Toffan and McCaffery, and also by Smokester, enters having won his only start. He beat maidens by four lengths on Dec. 8 at Hollywood Park and acts like a colt who will improve with more distance. Chris McCarron has the mount.

Besides the two stakes races, the other events in the pick six are a sprint for 3-year-old fillies running for a $16,000 tag, a turf sprint for older fillies and mares and two claimers for 2-year-old maidens.

Race of the day: The fifth is wide open. It is a 61/2-furlong race down the hillside turf course. Lady Cadet is the proven commodity on the layout, having won three times in a career that spans 57 starts. Other turf winners are Deliciosa, Flying Stuka and Brass Support.

Who’s hot: Allen Iwinski. The trainer, who is based in the East and who consistently wins at a high percentage, had three victories at Aqueduct on Wednesday.

Who’s not: Jockeys Antonio Castanon, Jack Kaenel and Kenny Black. Before the resumption of the Golden Gate Fields meet on Wednesday, they had combined for nine wins on 183 mounts.

Exotically speaking: An early pick three using Lady Katy Did, Diamond Tiara and Stonebridge Lady in the first, Bosque Redondo and Pie N Burger in the second and singling Penteli De Gras in the third.

Winners: Previous Day/Meet Total: 3/3. Money: Previous Day/Meet Total: $22.60/$22.60. Total money bet: $18.