Opening Night play @ Hollywood Hollywood - Race 8
#9 Waveline* (12/1 ml)
I really can't understand this morning line. This gal went off as the 2/1 favorite last time out vs. several of these same horses, and was only beaten a couple of lengths at the wire while finishing quite well. She lost some ground to Dotsy Jean (another strong contender here) while racing on the outside of that one as they went wide around the turn, which explains much of the difference between those two at the wire. What i find perhaps most interesting here however is that trainer Ben Cecil had mentioned going into that last race that Waveline was perhaps coming back a little too quick (only 3 weeks rest after coming off a year-long layoff), like he thought that might be a* problem. Again, Waveline did run well, but the possibility exists that she may have bounced a just a bit. And as great as Waveline ran previously when coming off that year-long layoff, note that she's coming off another layoff here tonight, and by all appearances has been training exceptionally well for this event. I think it's fair to expect her top effort tonight, which definitely puts her right in the hunt, and note that she's 1-for-1 over the course, so the change in locale doesn't look to be an issue. I'm not crazy about the extreme outside post, but she figures to draft in behind horses anyway, so i'm not sure it'll matter all that much. As long as she gets a clean trip, i think she'll be coming strongly late. Excellent value on a major contender.
