A Gleam Invitational

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

A field of nine is set to go in Saturday’s $150,000 A Gleam Invitational H.
(G2) at Hollywood Park, and HEAVENLY HUMOR (Distorted Humor) could come out on
top at a nice price. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer, the bay miss is a specialist
at the six-furlong distance but has experience going the extra furlong she’ll
need to negotiate on Saturday. That particular start came in the Humana Distaff
H. (G1), where she finished sixth by only 2 1/2 lengths. Returning last out in
the Winning Colors S., the
four-year-old filly closed nicely for second and could use the extra distance
here to be up at the wire. Her BRIS Speed and Late Pace ratings are competitive
with others in here, and we think Heavenly Humor could earn her first graded win
under Patrick Valenzuela in this spot.

PUXA SACO (Dehere) will be dangerous with her late turn of hoof and could
pass our top pick for the win. The Jenine Sahadi-conditioned mare most recently
scored a win in the Desert Stormer H. (G3) and finished ahead of Heavenly Humor
in the Humana Distaff. She gets a rider change to Alex Solis here, who’s been
winning at a 22 percent clip this year, and the five-year-old chestnut loves
both the distance (4-2-0-1) and track (4-2-1-0). Puxa Saco is a threat for it
all.

ALPHABET KISSES (Alphabet Soup) doesn’t own quite the same numbers as others
in here, but the game four-year-old loves to win. From her past five starts, the
gray filly posts a 3-0-0 record, and she worked a nice six furlongs in 1:12 4/5
to prepare for this one on July 1 over the track. The Martin Jones charge owns a
3-2-1-0 mark at seven furlongs and could forget to stop as the likely pacesetter
with Gary Stevens in the irons.

VALENTINE DANCER (In Excess [Ire]) has spent more than half her career on the
green, but the five-year-old bay owns a win over Hollywood’s main track. Her
last start on the dirt resulted in a nice second in the Paseana H. and she’s
been training well over Santa Anita’s main surface of late, getting a half-mile
in :47 on July 2. She’ll be a threat to the top three. Grade 1 winner STAR
PARADE (Arg) (Parade Marshal) looks like the class of this field, but the
talented six-year-old is more familiar with racing, and winning, over routes.
Nonetheless, this is the six-year-old veteran’s race to lose so don’t forget her
in the exotics.

RAMATUELLE (Chi) (Jeune Homme) captured her first two U.S. starts on the
dirt, but was then switched to the turf for a try in the Yerba Buena Breeders’
Cup H. (G3) two back. After a fourth there, the John Sadler trainee was sent
back to the main track, where she earned a third in the Desert Stormer H. (G3).
She could move up in this one in her second start off a slight layoff. MUIR
BEACH (Skip Away) seems to be a versatile type who can run and win on any type
of surface. Her speed isn’t quite what we’d like to see, but the gray
four-year-old might still grab part while returning to a sprint on the main
track.

RINKY DINK (Aus) (Distorted Humor) is a late runner who looks to run out of
ground here. We can’t recommend. FESTIVAL (Jpn) (Assatis) hasn’t been able to
regain her form from last season and might not be able to handle these until she
does.