Seven Lively Sins Looks to Drill Jackpot Field at Delta Downs

A field of ten two-year-olds will line up in Saturday’s $1 million Delta Jackpot (G1), which essentially has turned into a “Win and You’re In” race for next spring’s Kentucky Derby (G1).

The first place check of $590,000 in graded earnings assures the winner will grab one of the twenty starting spots in the 2012 Run for the Roses, regardless of what happens between now and the first Saturday of May.

The slots fueled purses at Delta Downs has brought in trainers from throughout the country fort the 11 race card, which features eight stakes races and purses in excess of $2 million.

Among the trainers with horses in the Delta Jackpot include Bob Baffert, Jerry Hollendorfer, Doug O’Neill, Steve Asmussen, and Al Stall.

The key to the race is predicting which Drill we are going to see on Saturday afternoon.

The Baffert trainee was a game winner of the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in September and followed that up with a runner up finish in the Norfolk (G1), but failed to fire on Breeders’ Cup Day, checking in a well beaten tenth in the Juvenile (G1).

Baffert took the blinkers off for his last race and will put them back on the son of Lawyer Ron and again will give the leg up to Martin Garcia.

The Delta Jackpot is the last leg of a $100,000 guaranteed all stakes Pick 4, which kicks off at 2:44 CT with the $150,000 Louisiana Legacy for state bred two-year-olds.

Older runners take the stage for the second leg of the Pick 4, with a field of eight going in the $125,000 Delta Mile.

Glenwood Canyon, who is coming off a third place finish in the Ack Ack (G3) for trainer Al Stall is the 2/1 morning line favorite.

The sixth race is the $500,000 Delta Princess (G3) for two-year-old fillies which drew a competitive field of ten.

Baffert sends out Candrea, who was second in the Oak Leaf (G1), and then failed to fire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), setting the early fractions and fading badly to finish a well beaten 11th.

I will include selections for all four races making up the Pick 4 in Saturday’s Best Plays Report.

Michael Dempsey provides his full card report for Aqueduct each racing day. Mike’s full card report includes his selections, analysis, fair odds line, and wagering recommendations. Mike’s Best Plays Report is available each weekend, with his strongest plays and selections including the top stakes races.

Let’s head out to Delta Downs for Saturday’s featured race of the day:

Delta Downs Race 7 The Delta Jackpot (G3) Post time 4:15 CT

• Seven Lively Sins 9/2
• Drill 2/1
• Longview Drive 10/1
• My Adonis 4/1

Seven Lively Sins is shipping in from Churchill Downs for the Al Stall barn and is coming off a game runner up finish on the one turn mile Iroquois (G3). The colt set all of the fractions and could not hold off the late run of Motor City in deep stretch, coming up ¾ of a length short of the top spot while nearly four lengths clear of the rest of the field. The colt earned a solid fig breaking his maiden two back over the polytrack at Keeneland going seven furlongs. Her draws a good spot and looks quick enough to set the early fractions or get a good tracking trip if a couple of others in here are sent. He has enough pedigree to handle his first trip around two turns.

Drill is the first Grade 1 winner to compete in the Delta Jackpot, having won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) back in September. He then was the beaten chalk in a runner up finish in the Norfolk (G1), and was the fourth choice in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at 9/1. The colt bore in at the start bumping a rival and was never a threat in a tenth place finish. Hall of fame trainer Bob Baffert had removed the blinkers for his last start and puts them back on today. The colt figures to rebound with a much better effort today.

Longview Drive is coming off a pair of stakes wins on the fair circuit, last out taking the Charlie Palmer Futurity at Fresno. The runner up in the race was Marshal Marini, who came back to finish a decent third in the Golden Nugget at Golden Gate Fields on Nov. 12. The colt picks up a new rider in Joel Rosario and has some tactical speed to overcome the inside draw. The colt is a full brother to stakes winner Pyro ($1.6 million) and a half-brother to War Echo ($284K). He is worth tossing in the mix if he goes off near his 10/1 ML.

Wagering:
WIN: Seven Lively Sins at 7/2 or better.
EX: 2,6 / 1,2,5,6
TRI: 2,6 / 1,2,5,6 / 1,2,3,5,6,10