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Race 1

1^st #2 C Islandsurprise didn’t seem to be fond of Canterbury and that’s okay.  She’s also winless at Ellis with four starts, all of which were third place finishes.  It’s been over six months since she won and she looks great here.  

2^nd #6 Caiman’s Dancer has been waiting for a win.  Ran second by a neck last out, and third before that.  Her foe who has beat her twice in a row her past two races isn’t in this race so she’s got a little bit of slack but she isn’t all that fond of distance.

3^rd #1 Holy Cookie is another one who has a chance to hit the board.  This is a wide open race, but I have a feeling she will be no worse than third.  She is yet to run on the Ellis dirt, which could be a concern. But her second place last out on the turf was great.

Race 2

1^st #4 Mad Grace was recently claimed which is really interesting to me.  She’s been “done early” her last two races and I’m not sure why. Her jockey and trainer are killing it this meet, and she gets the blinkers on.

2^nd #3 Bella Kristina has had a near six month layoff.  She’s fresh, but may need an out or two to get fit. I’m honestly surprised they’ve raced her as long as they have seeing how it took her eleven starts to get the win.

3^rd #5 Molly’s Game has hit the board on the turf, but yet to pull off a win on the turf.  She ran fourth last out, she just sort of gave up, I am hoping this time around she will hang back and make a bigger move!

Race 3

1^st #4 Bubba’s Dixie is 3/5 morning line, and rightfully so.  Norm McKnight is killing it this season, and David Cohen is riding good as well.  He was popular in the claiming box this year at Oaklawn, and is taking a steep drop in class.

2^nd #1 Bango Box just got caught last out.  He has two starts at Ellis and one win and one third.  It’s a pretty good record compared to some. Out of thirty races, he’s been on the board for half of them, which again, is really good.

3^rd #5 Itsthebourbontalkn didn’t get lucky last out when he dropped out of the race.  He’s coming back now, hopefully in better shape because he’s normally a consistent fella.  One race here, one second place finish.

Race 4

1^st #1 Parade Field has ten races under his belt, the most experienced out of the race.  His third place finish with Declan Carroll recently was a solid effort.

2^nd #3 A.K. Safari only lost by two and a half last out, so don’t let the fourth place finish push you away from throwing a show bet on him at least.  Again, more experienced in the field with seven races. I’d like to see him drop in class a little.

3^rd #4 Road to Peace ran at Churchill first out and ran fourth.  He’s had two months off and I like that he’s getting more distance.  That race seemed way too short for him. This will help him out.

Race 5-

1^st #5 One for Richie looks good in this spot, named in honor of trainer Merrill Scherer’s late son, Richie Scherer.  He’s ran well this year, but last out was a tough race for him. This spot and competition is better.

2^nd #2 Unmatchable had some time off, and ran third off the layoff.  He did struggle for third, and now this time he will be more fit having an out under his belt but I don’t trust him on top yet.

3^rd #6 St. Augustine has been off since March and may need a race.  The dam is St. John’s River, who ran second against Plum Pretty in the Kentucky Oaks, and he’s by Tapit.  I’d really love to see this horse succeed with such great breeding. Trained by Joe Sharp.

Race 6

1^st #8 Amazima has ran third twice in a row, and second place in her debut.  This time, she’s the heavy chalk so hopefully she can get it done. Corey Lanerie is really having an awesome meet sitting at 20%.

2^nd #6 Rodhwaan is a hard one to predict.  One race, hits the board, next race, runs terrible.  It’s hard to handicap a horse like this but she is due for a good effort now, sitting at 4/1.

3^rd #3 Korat Queen came off of a long layoff recently, and didn’t run well at all.  To give her the benefit of the doubt, she was off for so long. Brad Cox knows how to make changes for the good in racehorses and she adds the blinkers.

Race 7-

1^st #7 Portrait is also trained by Brad Cox, just like the horse in the last race I chose for third and she also gets blinkers on.  She ran third to kick off her career and looks like the best bet of the race.

2^nd #3 Aruba Moon looks good for Dale Romans, worked a nice bullet a little bit ago.  She’s a Malibu Moon filly purchased for $95,000 and this is her first race.  

3^rd #1 Evil Lyn is the other Brad Cox filly by Wicked Strong, who was purchased for $60,000.  Her works are decent, I’d like to see her run before I’ll know more.

Race 8-

1^st #2 Philosophy is trained by Mark Casse who is at 27%, which is very good.  Beaten last out by five, just kind of ran along and chased, but hopefully here we will get a better effort from him.

2^nd #4 Tina’s Exchange deserves some credit for his consistency and hard efforts.  This is the first time he’s raced in Kentucky, but the competition he’s been running in California has been tough.  I hope this works out for him.

3^rd #5 Bye Bye Birdstone is a tough one to predict because unlike his fellow runner I have placed in second, he isn’t consistent.  He wasn’t beat by that much last out, and it was a tough run, but it’s a new day.

Race 9-

1^st #6 Grand Meister is trained by Peter Miller, normally a California based trainer, he’s ran a stable at Ellis as well this summer.  Good effort last out, just couldn’t get there.

2^nd #9 Atthepearlygates beat Grand Meister last out, closed well, but didn’t make it and finished second.  It was a good race, I would have liked to see him get the win.

3^rd #10 Spindletop is coming from New York, on a class drop, with a new trainer and jockey.  A fresh start could help the son of Hard Spun finally get closer to a win.