By Race 7 at Santa Anita was a contest between the Prime Power Rating top, #5 Velvet Queen at 7-5, and the Handicap Wizard’s first selection, Holly Hundy at 2-1. In this $80K optional allowance race at 5f on the turf for three-year old fillies, Holly Hundy had dominant final speed (52.5%) and E1 (43.8%) and E2 (38.5%) estimates, while Velvet Queen’s final speed estimate was zero, though she had the highest winning percentage, adjusted for stakes, in the field at 21.1%. Velvet Queen’s Brisnet Power Rating was 136.32 versus Holly Hundy’s 135.99. As the saying goes, “speed kills”, and so did Holly Hundy kill the competition in this race. After a quick opening quarter, Holly Hundy ran 3rd from last until the far turn, when she undertook a five wide bid at the top of the stretch that thrust her past the other horses. In the end, Holly Hundy won by 3 1/2 lengths, thanks to excellent jockeying by Kent Desormeaux. Holly Hundy paid $6.80 for the win. Velvet Queen was an “also ran”.
Pro-Handicap Analytics 