There’s a pick 5 carryover on Thursday at Golden Gate Fields worth $32,723. It’s going to be a great sequence, with five competitive races. I’ll dive into each them and then give out my proposed ticket.
Race 3 is a n/w2L claiming race for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. This race presents a great opportunity to use just one horse, or “single”. The horse I will use here is the 6, Of Note. She’s got a huge early speed advantage on the rest of the field. Based on her running lines, it looks like she’ll be able to take a clear early lead, and leave everyone else chasing her in vain. She showed speed and tired in her last two races, but that was against tougher company. Facing a weaker field here, she should go gate-to-wire.
The 4th race looks a little more challenging, with a competitive open $16,000 claiming field going 5 1/2 furlongs. I ended up using three horses in this one. The 1, Incensed, is shipping from Southern California, where he’s been facing better rivals than he’ll see here. Two starts back, he won a $32,000 claiming race at Del Mar, earning a big brisnet speed figure of 89. He regressed in his last race at Santa Anita Park, but I’m counting on a cutback from 6 1/2 furlongs and a slight improvement from that race to do the trick. The 5, Awesome Silver, gets some class relief after facing slightly tougher foes in this last few races. He ran a strong 87 brisnet figure when finishing third last out, the highest last-out number in the race by six points. He’s also got some great late pace figures, so it looks like he’ll stalk the pace and pounce on the leaders turning for home. Finally, I’ll use the 6, Plate Slide, who looks like the most consistent member of the field. He’s also first off the claim for trainer Ari Herbertson, who is 31% with horses under his care for the first time.
Race 5 is a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies at one mile. I’ll use two horses in this race. The 2, Babe Didrikson, stretches out from six furlongs and tries open maidens for the first time. However, she’s shown promise in both her races. In her debut, she led briefly in the stretch, but was run down. Second time out, she improved her speed figure slightly while closing sharply from last place. Her closing speed indicates that she should be heard from late, even at the longer distance. I’ll also use the 4, Karsavina, who ran very well when going two turns on the grass last time. She’ll go a mile on the synthetic main track for the first time, but her good showing last time gives me optimism that she’ll have no problem with the distance.
The 6th race is a n/w2L claiming race going one mile. Once again, I’ll go two-deep in here. The 4, A Little Bit Cocky, ran well against similar horses in his last race, finishing a decent fourth with a sharp brisnet figure of 76. The 6, Martini Up, has lost just once against n/w2L claimers, and has fantastic speed figures, running in the low-80s every time out. His only downside is that he’s unproven going longer distances, as he’s never been beyond six furlongs in his short career. However, if he takes to the mile, he’s going to be tough to beat.
The 7th and final race is a very difficult maiden claiming race for three-year-old fillies at five furlongs. I’ll use two first-time starters in here: the 2, Alwayslittlesister, and the 5, Twice as Windy, both of whom have shown some promise in their workouts. I’ll also throw in the 4, She’s a Spy, who was a sharp second at the level last time, along with the 10, Behold the Gold, who has lots of early speed and is lightly raced.
To recap, the ticket looks like this:
Race 3: 6
Race 4: 1, 5, 6
Race 5: 2, 4
Race 6: 4, 6
Race 7: 2, 4, 5, 10
That comes out to a play of $24. Good luck to everyone playing along!