Free Picks For Del Mar -8/29/20

Race 1 - Maiden Special Weight ($55,000)

Six 2-year-old colts, all of which have a race in hand, will go one mile on the dirt. #2 Ambivalent will look to make amends for the ending to his last race where the son of Constitution finished a strong race after overcoming a rocky start in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes third but ended up fourth as a result fo bumping fourth place Sonic Brees in the stretch. Ambivalent, who finished second in his debut at this level, had a nice recent workout for trainer Doug O’Neil. #4 Man Friday is turning around very quickly after finishing fourth in his debut where he had nothing after going four-wide through the turn. One of American Pharoah’s foals, Man Friday completed a nice four-furlong workout for trainer Bob Baffert last Saturday. #6 Scary Larry appears poised to improve on his fourth-place finish on Aug .1 after a couple of solid training sessions.

Picks: I like a win bet on the #2. I also like a #2, #4 exacta box and a show bet on the #6.

Race 2 - Claiming $16,000- $14,000 (Purse - $26,000)

Six geldings that are 5-year-old and upwards will go one mile on the dirt. #2 Secret Touch has steadily shown improvement in each of his last four outings, culminating in a win at this level two starts back and a solid fourth-place finish the last time out versus $32,000 starter allowance. Secret Touch, who will have Umberto Rispoli in the irons, has a 36% strike rate at this distance. #5 Winning Element returns to the dirt, where he is 8-3-1-1, following two races on the turf. Winning Element also runs well at this distance. #3 Willshire Dude has run well the past two races and is coming off a victory going one and one-sixteenth miles against $12,500 -$10,000 claimers. He also has a 75% WPS percentage at Del Mar.

Picks: I like a win bet on the #2. I also like a #2, #3, #5.