Preview: The Del Mar main track seemed to play to rally wide horses the first week of the meet, but then beginning on Friday, the inside of the dirt suddenly got good and smart jockeys took advantage, going to the front and daring to be caught.
As for post positions, gates one and two haven’t been good in sprints, winning just 8.4 percent of the time (4-for-48) while posts three through seven have won 32 times.
In dirt distance races, the inside two gates have won 13 of 40 races (32.5 percent).
On the grass, posts one and two are 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) while surprisingly posts six through 11 have won 21 times so for the most part the grass has been fair.
On the jockey front, Flavien Prat had the best week the last five racing days with five wins from 11 mounts and he was 3-for-5 dirt while 2-for-6 on the grass.
Jockeys Joe Talamo (0-for-22) and Kent Desormeaux (0-for-21) are having a tough time on the grass.
On the training front, Peter Miller was hot last week with a 7-for-16 mark (4-for-8 on the grass) followed by Phil D’Amato, who was 4-for-19. After an 0-for-21 start, Richard Baltas finally won two races and is 2-for-31 for the meet.

FIRST RACE: 1. Lord Guinness, 2. Stonegate, 3. Pleasant d’Oro. LONG SHOT: Justin’s Quest.

SECOND RACE: 1. Princess Dorian, 2. Be a Lady, 3. Wonderful Lie. LONG SHOT: Li’l Grazen.

THIRD RACE: 1. Mz Brown, 2. Creative Instinct, 3. Don’t Sell. LONG SHOT: Naturalborn Singer.

FOURTH RACE: 1. Brandothebartender, 2. Krsto Skye, 3. Our Independence. LONG SHOT: Regal Born.

FIFTH RACE: 1. Hard Arch, 2. Wise Curlin, 3. Taniko. LONG SHOT: Katzumoto.

SIXTH RACE: 1. Over Thinking, 2. Marckie’s Water, 3. Acker. LONG SHOT: Kitten’s Royal.

SEVENTH RACE: 1. MONTANA SUNSET (best bet), 2. Lippy, 3. Accomplishedsister. LONG SHOT: Six Pack Gal.

EIGHTH RACE: 1, Girl Drama, 2. Quizlet, 3. Gray Diva. LONG SHOT: Flourescent.

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

Top choice winners: 4 (Danuska’s My Girl, $9.20, first race; Anonymity $3, third; Summering $6, fourth; Unique Bella $2.20, fifth)

Second choice winners: 1 (Roadster $3.60, sixth)

Third choice winners: 1 (Raven Creek $12, ninth)

Long shot winners: 0

Good luck.

@Jeff_Nahill on Twitter