Danzhound Can Go the Distance

Danzhound, who has run well twice previously at 870 yards, is among eight distance specialists scheduled to race in tonight’s $27,300 Newport Beach Handicap.

A 5-year-old gelded son of Foxhound trained by Kent Molinaro for Walnut View Farms, Danzhound was second in the Moonshiner Handicap on Jan. 31, then won an allowance race by 2 1/2 lengths over a sloppy surface on Feb. 22.

A thoroughbred who had won only two of 23 in Northern California, Danzhound will be ridden by jockey Macario Rodriguez.

From the inside out, the rest of the field includes Tricky Dust, Chicks Charger Easy, Azure Classic Dash, Brishane, Ib Chick Quick, Bac To Streak and Fed Ex Together.

Tricky Dust, trained by Paul Jones for owner Joan Dale Hubbard, is the only other member of the cast coming off a win. He went wire to wire in an allowance race at the distance on March 12.

The picks: 1. Knows What. 2. Altiro. 3. Hez Splittin. 4. Kusu Man. 5. Run Florence Run. 6. Scr Proudest Target. 7. Willies Golden Lamb. 8. Bac In The Saddle. 9. Danzhound. 10. Melancholy High.

Four! Knows What and Fred Too in the first, Augustus Gold and Altiro in the second, Hez Splittin in the third and Kusu Man, Phine And Dandy and Im Moving On in the fourth.

Shots in the dark: Scatter Tacs makes her first local start for Jones in the fifth. First Dashatac comes back at the same level after a claim in the sixth.

Post Time: 6:30 p.m.

On the Net: For entries and results from Los Alamitos, visit: www.latimes.com/horseracing.