(For additional commentary, follow us on twitter @jsiegelracing).

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DEL MAR SPOTLIGHT RACES:

First Race: Post: 12:30 PT
Top Pick: 7-Ruthless But Kind (4-1)

This lightly raced and progressive 3-year-old brought some serious money ($625,000) as a yearling and displayed considerable improvement in her just second career start last month at Santa Anita when rallying with courage to be second in a similar maiden turf mile event for fillies and mares. She sports a bullet five furlong workout (:59 3/5, fastest of 14) at Los Alamitos since raced, so we’re expecting the Eric Kruljac-trained daughter of War Front to produce another significant forward move, and with good racing luck and some help up front she appears capable of producing a winning late kick. You can use her in the win pool and then hook up in exactas with 6-Infinite Empire, a close fourth (beaten just a length) in maiden turf router over this course during the summer meeting in a performance that projects her to be in the fray throughout.

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Sixth Race – Post: 3:00 PT
Top Pick: 10-Lemon Sushi (5-1)

In a race loaded with early speed, this late-developing gelding should have every opportunity to come right back and win again after defeating a state-bred maiden field sprinting at Santa Anita last month. Bred to route on both sides of his pedigree, the Val Brinkerhoff-trained gelding likely will drop back from his outside draw and then, with the help of the projected race shape, be asked to kick home from the quarter pole to the wire. If he reproduce his sprint speed figures at this distance, there will be decent wagering value to be found at or near his morning line of 5-1.

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DEL MAR RECOMMENDED ROLLING EXOTIC STRATEGIES:

(Races 1-4)
1st race: 7-Ruthless But Kind; 6-Infinite Empire
2nd race: 2-American Refugee; 6-Apfel
3rd race: 3-Helladic; 2-Ah Jeez
4th race: 1-Multi Platinum; 6-Moraweth; 4-Baladi

(Races 5-8)
5th race: 7-Petruchio; 8-Percolate; 9-Flint Stroll
6th race: 10-Lemon Sushi
7th race: 2-Handy Dandy; 8-Spycatcher
8th race: 2-Sugar Sugar; 10-Golden Halo