Happy Father’s Day Race fans and Horseplayers! We are coming off a great day off fun and racing yesterday with the Belmont Stakes, and we are ready for another great 11 Race Sunday card at Gulfstream. Some pretty competitive fields set to go, So let’s get started!
Race 1- 1 1/16 Mile Turf Maiden Claimer For 3 year old’s and upward
This is a 12 horse field with 4 AE ready to go.
The favorite out of the original 12 will be the 5 Strong Headed at a ML of 3/1. I can’t argue too much with this, but in my opinion, there will be some strong competition coming from the 6 Karamojo and 10 Guaco. The 6 is coming down in class from his debut in which he finished 3rd against a tougher lot than this. I look for the typical second time starter improvement and I believe it will be enough here to give him the win. The 10 could also be there in the end and have a strong in the money finish. Last time out he struggled a bit on the rail but finished 4th.
Race 1 Picks- 6,5,10
Race 2 – 5 Furlongs on Dirt Maiden Special Weight for 2 year Old’s
This is a 9 horse filed.
We have 6 six first time starters out of a filed of nine, so needless to say this could be a wild one. I’m going with the 8 Macy’s Run Home as my favorite in this one. I like her pedigree which includes a stakes winner and what looks like a bred in liking for this distance. My other picks are 3 Tamiami and the 9 Pretzel. The Pletcher trained 3 horse will be in great shape and ready to debut sharply with Edgar Zayas up. The 3 also has an impressive pedigree that points to a successful debut. The 9 Pretzel has a couple of races under the saddle and I look for an improvement here. He was bumped last time out and it cost him a couple of lengths, with a better trip I can certainly see an in the money finish.
Race 2 Picks- 8,3,9
Race 3 – 1 1/16 Miles on Turf Claiming for 3 year old’s and upward
This is a 12 horse filed with 1 AE ready.
I’m going with the ML favorite here in the 10 Caribbean Kitten. Although the 10 is moving up a bit in class, her win last time out was very impressive over coming a brush late after a long drive to close it out. The 4 turf winners in the 10’s Dam’s stats are also a positive. My other picks in this one will be the 8 Zodiac princess and a little longer priced play with the 6 Lemoncita. The 8 is coming off of a 2nd place finish last time out against similar field as todays and she looks to be a great fit pace wise for this distance. The 6 is going to have to have a good trip and have the race unfold in a way which will allow her to stay close early and come off the pace late. Watching her replay of last time out she, had some real trouble in the gate but still impressed a bit later with a bid.
Race 3 Picks – 10,8,6
Race 4 – 6.5 Furlongs on Dirt Maiden Claimer for 3 year old’s and upward
This is a 10 horse field.
The 8 Tony Small just looks to be the one to beat and I believe the rest will fall a bit short. With Zayas up and a nice stalker type of running style, I think the 8 gets it done here. The 8 is has a couple of other angles that I like in sprints in particularly, coming second off of a layoff and she had an extremely nice run on the outside last time to finish 2nd late at this exact distance. My other picks are the 1 Oroscopo who I think will benefit from the drop in class as well as returning to dirt here, and the 10 Captain Fofo who could benefit from a busted pace to come up late to close.
Race 4 Picks- 8,1,10
Race 5- 1 Mile on Turf Claiming for 3 Year Old’s and up.
This is an 11 horse filed with 1 MTO ready go.
My top pick here is the 6 Wicked Solution. I was impressed with her running style in watching replays as well as her pedigree’s success on turf. She is dropping in class from last time out and looks to be in great form. My other picks in this one will be the 7 La Cara Bonita who is coming down 2 classes in this one, and the 3 A Beautiful Day. The 7 has weakened late in the last 2 outings but both races were busted paces early and I look for improvement down the stretch here. The 3 has a little stiffer task ahead of her today than last time out as she moves up in class, but I do believe she has a great shot of building off of last tie outs win at this exact surface and distance, and I look for an in the money finish here.
Race 5 Picks- 6,7,3
Race 6 – 1 Mile Dirt Maiden Special Weight for 3 year old’s and upward.
This is a 6 horse field.
This maiden race has one first time starter going, the 6 Tatweej. In looking at the rest of the field and doing a bit of research deeper than the forms, I am going to do something that I don’t normally like to do and go wit the first time starter here. I believe Pletcher is as good as you can get in getting a horse ready for debut and his numbers reflect this with a 24% winning figure in maiden special weight debut’s. Add this to the fact that the 6’s Dam has 2 winners from 2 starters, and it makes a very good case. My other picks here are going to be the 3 Spice Road and the 4 Summer Kid. Both are coming down just a bit in class from their previous starts and the 4 looks to improve here in his second start. On paper the 3 actually looks the fastest of the bunch and if he can be rated just a bit here, her may have something for this field.
Race 6 Picks- 6,3,4
Race 7- 1 Mile on Turf Claiming for 4 year old’s and upward
This is an 11 horse filed with 1 MTO ready
The morning line favorite here looks to be the 12 Sassy Justice and although I do like her I’m going to go with the 1 Sweet Story. I like the fact that the 1 is coming down in class and looked strong last outing in spite of some real traffic issues. Speed wise she is right there but I think she has a bit more pace than some and can close a little later. My other picks here are going to be the 12 Sassy Justice who I think is a fine pick but I’m still giving the 1 the nod, and the 9 Believe Indeed. The 9 is going to be adding blinkers today and dropping a bit in class as well. I look for an improvement over last time out for the 9 and hopefully an in the money finish.
Race 7 Picks- 1,12,9
Race 8 – 6 Furlongs on Dirt Claiming for 3 year old’s and upward.
This is a 9 Horse Field.
I really like the 1 Flashing Diamond in this one. She is dropping in class but more importantly, she is coming off a race where she dueled a bit and faltered late at a longer distance. She has an early speed running style that is winning at almost a 30% rate here, and she has the other early speed outside her in this one. My other picks here are the 4 My Sarasota Star and the 8 Distinctly Diamond. The 4 is the ML favorite and looks to have an exceptionally good shot here. Much like the 1, the 4 has an early speed style which should do well if she can avoid a speed duel early and a mad rush for the rail. The 8 is also coming down a bit in class and looks to improve from last time out, where there was a stumble at the start that cost her.
Race 8 Picks- 1,4,8
Race 9 – 1 Mile on Turf Claiming for 3 year old’s and upward.
This is an 11 Horse Field.
I’m going with the 9 Trieste as my favorite. I like the fact she is returning to turf from a dirt race last time out as well as the fact she has the highest speed rating for both the surface and distance. I think that some of the early speed in this race could turn it in to an early speed duel and that would unfold into the 9’s favor coming off the pace a bit. I also like the 5 Aerodynamic as well as the 2 Adios. The 5 has some impressive speed and workout numbers and I like the 2 for a lot of the same reasons as the 9. The 2 is also coming 2nd off of a layoff which, is an angle that I do like because there is usually a chance for improvement, and improvement here would mean a win as she finished 2nd last time out.
Race 9 Picks- 9,5,2
Race 10 – 6 Furlongs on Dirt Allowance
This is an 8 Horse Field.
My top pick here is going to be the 4 Cool Arrow. This is a 2nd off a layoff situation again, after coming off of a competitive 4th place finish last time out and being claimed in the race prior, I look for nice improvement here. My other picks here are the 3 Travy Boy and the 6 Running For Riz. The 3 is moving up in class here but is coming off an impressive win last time out, where he got to his foe late and prevailed. The 6 has a running style that could suit him well here if he can be rated just a bit early and I think he has a good chance of an in the money finish.
Race 10 Picks- 4,3,6
Race 11 – 1 Mile on Turf Maiden Claimer
I’m going to go with the 6 Bettin Onna Kitten in the finale. I think she is just a good clean trip away from a win here and with jockey Pascacio Lopez up, chances are she is in a good position to have a shot. My other picks are going to be the 4 Subtle Joy and 7 Princess Crystal. The 4 has experience and is hoping to improve on a nice 2nd place finish last time out. The 7’s turf pedigree rating is among the best in this field and at a ML of 20/1 I think she’s worth a play today.
Race 11 Picks- 6,4,7
Good Luck Everyone, and as always, I will try and update my twitter feed with turf changes and scratches as they may affect my selections. Thanks.