Race 1: 4-2-5
#4 SCRIBE drops down from maiden special weight company after finishing to American Guru who ran a 103 Beyer next time out. #2 CHASINDAMONEY ships down from Belmont after four consecutive third place finishes in MSW races. Should show some early speed. #5 NO FLY ZONE drops from maiden 40k on the trainer switch to Duarte who is 3 for 7 this meet.
Race 2: 4-1-5
#4 TRUE BOOTS gets back to claiming company after trying allowance company first off the claim for the red-hot Navarro barn. #1 R KISS EM GOODBYE comes off over a year layoff which isn’t my favorite, but the horse did have incredible speed and drew off to win by over 10 lengths in debut receiving a decent Beyer fig. Could wire the field. #5 NOCTURNAL MISSION is 5 of 6 in the money this year while facing a bit tougher.
Race 3: 3-7-8
#3 ARCH OF TROY comes in off a troubled trip in his last where he appeared the best. Facing many similar foes here. Bullet work Jan 11th first off the claim for Michael Tomlinson. #7 LIBERALE might improve second off the layoff for Mary Eppler. She won last time out and has been in the money in her last 9 races. #8 BOGULATOR seems to like GP and 1 mile on the turf seems to be his preferred surface/distance.
Race 4: 2-5-6
#2 JUST AIN’T RIGHT returns after a decent maiden score. This 250k 2yo purchase seems well intended for Pletcher and Saez. #5 CORY GAL has the highest Beyer of the group after finally breaking her maiden after two second place finishes. Looks to have some speed but I’m not so sure the 2 horse isn’t just as fast. #6 WILDWOOD’S BEAUTY makes her first start at GP after a MSW win across town at GPW. Nice bullet work in preparation of today’s race.
Race 5: 3-2-9
#3 MACAGONE is a tough NY bred who was racing in stakes races two short years ago. He is now down to 16k and has the Beyer figs to win. Johnny V rides for Billy Mott. #2 GIVE TO UK CATS is an interesting horse. The cut back to a mile might be the key here. He shows a lot of early speed and might try to take them all the way. His last race however wasn’t great. #9BOLD RALLY is also getting a cut back ion distance and a drop in class. Nice to see Saez take the mount. Would need to improve to win here.
Race 6: 7-6-3
#7 AGHOST TO THE POST tries to escape this 6,250 NW2 condition for the 5th time after running solid races and finishing in the money all four times. To me, he looks the horse to beat. #6 COOL MOVER had absolutely no chance last time as the favorite. He was checked very hard into the first turn and had no chance from being that far back. I see him as the real threat to the 7. #3 MANHATTAN PROJECT is dropping from 16k to 6,250 and going turf to dirt. Should be running late.
Race 7: 7-5-2
#7 CHUNNEL exits a solid race across the state at TBD against similar company. Horses that ran in Claiming Crown races are coming back and running well. Taking a shot with this horse for the leading barn. #5 THE SCOTSMAN has great turn of foot late. Also, exiting a Claiming Crown race and running career best Beyers of late. #2 BAD STUDENT is popular in the claim box. Irad rides for Mike Maker. Must run his best to get a piece.
Race 8: 1-5-7
#1 FULL SWING makes her 5th start for the Pletcher barn. Todd is 50% MSW to MCL. #5 STEFANIE ON FLEEK was not well backed first time out at AQU back in Nov. Drops from MSW to MCL for Todd like I said before 50%. #7 FOLLY is coming into this race second off the layoff for Clement. Tyler Gaffalione climbs back aboard after losing an iron and being put up a placing to fourth via DQ.
Race 9: 4-7-5
#4 GOLDEN AWARD has fired well off the layoff the last three races and I don’t see why that won’t be the case here. Looks to be well bet once again as she was favored in all her six career starts. #7 TWEETING is coming out of a less than stellar G3 race in the slop. Has been working well and goes out for the leading barn. #5 LESLEY MAY makes her second start over the GP dirt and looks to remain on the improve.
Race 10: 10- 5-7
#10 UNOFFENSIVE was a 300k yearling purchase who has been gelded and making his first start at 4 for a 20k tag. Pletcher doesn’t do well with debut MCL but he grabs Saez to ride and the horse hasn’t been working terribly. #5 TRUMP’S KITTEN ships down from Woodbine after running a pretty good debut race as the favorite on poly. Has very good early speed and likely the one to catch. Also, he’s dropping from MSW to MCL. #7 RUMSON RALLY has some late speed and might be able to pick up the pieces late.