I’m back. Here are my picks for Friday’s races at GP.
RACE 1: Maiden $25,000, 6 ½ furlongs, dirt
#4 CAPTAIN YENNER will win this. This trainer-jock combo is .33 over the last two meets and is .31 at this year’s meet. Trainer Victor Barbosa is batting an eye-popping .48 with first races off the claim/sale. This colt also ran a 59 Beyer (one of the highest in today’s field) first time out.
PICKS: 4-3-1
RACE 2: Allowance $51,000, 1 3/16 mile, turf
Best race with the best horses today. It’s going to come down to four trainers: Clement, McGaughey, Mott and Brown. I’m going with Clement’s horse #1 SHORE MAGIC. Only four lifetime races so far and he’s poised to improve. Broke his maiden at this distance at KEE and will be flying late. Clement and jockey Paco Lopez is a solid trainer-jock combo. So far at GP this season they are (7 .29 AVG. $2.11). Should go off at a better price compared to #3 BLOCKADE (Shug’s horse), #5 GAUGIN (Mott’s horse) or #7 FINANCIAL SYSTEM (Brown’s horse).
PICKS: 1-5-7-3
RACE 3: Claiming $12,500, six furlongs, dirt
Yawn. Low-price claimers. I’ll go with #7 GREY MANNERS. Lightly raced (most races were in Mexico City) and this mare broke her maiden at 7 panels winning by 9 ¾ lengths and earning a 59 Beyer last August at GP. Efrain Loza is making the best out of his limited starters this season (5 3 0 1 .60). Jockey Paco Lopez gets his back-to-back second win.
PICKS: 7-6-4-3
RACE 4: Claiming $16,000, one mile, dirt
I’m going with #3 WARRANT OFFICER. Jockey Jose Ortiz gets his first win of the day. Ran a 61 Beyer at this distance two back at TP and won that race. Kenneth McPeak is one of the best dirt route trainers at GP. He’s 10-for-34 .29 at the last two meets and he wins a lot of his races for the connections Magdalena Racing.
PICKS: 3-2-5-6
RACE 5: Optional Claiming $50,000/N1X, 1 1/16 mile, turf
I’m going with #5 LOST TICKET. Jose gets his second win of the day. Trainer Bill Mott is outstanding with horses making their first races off the layoff. In the last two meets, Mott is 23-for-114 .20. This filly is also training well with two bullet workouts this month. She is lightly raced and has so much room for improvement. Mott is also batting .19 with horses that won their last start.
PICKS: 5-8-6-7
RACE 6: Maiden claiming $50,000, 1 1/16th mile, turf
Tough one to handicap. I decided I’ll settle on #5 RV TREASURE. Jose Ortiz for the win … again. This filly is lightly raced and lost to a head-bob in AQU in her last race. She’ll be wearing blinkers for the first time and trainer Niall Saville is 1-for-1 with first time blinkers and .40 with horses with blinkers on. Beyers-wise she’s at the top of this field as well.
PICKS: 5-1-6-8
RACE 7: Claiming $50,000, 6 ½ furlongs, dirt
I’m going with #5 FIVE OF HEARTS. It’s trained by Jorge Navarro, one of the best, and he’s batting .28 this year with horses that won last time out. He’s good for at least one or two wins per card. He’ll get his right here.
PICKS: 5-1-3
RACE 8: Optional claimer $16,000/N1X, five furlongs, turf
I like #5 SWEET YARE N DIRA. Jockey Luis Saez gets his first win of the day. Beyers-wise this mare is at the top of today’s field. Trained by Saffie Joseph, a turf specialist, and she’s 4-for-4 ITM at this distance.
PICKS: 5-7-9
RACE 9: Optional claimer $25,000/N1X, six furlongs, dirt
I got #6 ANGELINA for this one. Trainer Todd Pletcher is a king when it comes to first races off the layoff. He’s batting .32 in the last two meets at GP in this category. Plus his Hall of Fame Jockey Jonny Velasquez will be riding. Like Joseph and Navarro, Pletcher is due for a win on every card he has horses in. Here it is.
PICKS: 6-5-4
RACE 10: Maiden claiming $16,000, 1 1/16 mile, turf
I love the last race of the day. Any horse can win and the payoffs are usually huge. Not today. #7 SAVVY CAIRO may be the best bet of the day. A lot of winless trainers here and then one pops out at you – Linda Rice, the trainer of SAVVY CAIRO. Rice is pulling out all the karma moves here: dirt-to-turf (.22), first race off the claim (.23), and sprint-to-route (.30). Saez also gets his second win of the day.
PICKS: 7-3-4