Bob Hope Stakes
- Ambivalent- Gutierrez/ O’Neill
- Ambivalent is coming out of the Champagne in which he did not show up at all. He is still a maiden facing stakes company but I think he should just be put in a MSW and let him experience what winning is like before they put him back into the stakes company. I don’t know how the odds makers made him 7/2 ML but I am totally against him at anywhere near that price. He already lost to Weston twice in his career and he meets him again here.
- Spielberg- Cedillo/ Baffert
- Speilberg might be the best of the bunch here. Abel chooses this horse over the #6 Uncle Boogie and I think he made the right choice. He finally broke his maiden in a MSW group but he has just missed in graded stakes company as a maiden. Cedillo won the last race without a whip which is a major incident here. I think that he should take that step forward here and he should be able to beat this field. Abel hopefully will keep his whip this time.
- Weston- Van Dyke/ Hanson
- Weston is a horse I like in this spot. Drayden stays aboard and he has a race at 7F in which Speilberg beat him. I think the layoff should have him fresh and the 2nd try at the distance should be beneficial. His workout tab seems to show that he should be able to improve and might have put on more muscle. I think Van Dyke might be sitting on a horse cranked and ready to go today. He is my top pick.
- Coastal Kid- Baze/ Metz
- Coastal Kid comes in from Emerald in which he dominated in his debut against maidens. He then veered out in his stakes debut and the jockey lost the irons and that led to the horse finishing 3rd. He gets blinkers today which might stop him from veering out in the stretch. However, I don’t think that is what gets the job done today and I will be looking elsewhere.
- Red Flag- Espinoza/ Shirreffs
- Red Flag seems to be a turf horse going back to dirt. I don’t like this angle usually and today is not a day where I will like the angle. He improved 12 beyer figures switching to turf and he has a win now on the turf but they switch him back to dirt simply because they needed to run him most likely and this was the only stakes nearby for 2yos. I don’t like the connections rushing into spots like this one so I will be waiting to play this horse when he gets back on the grass.
- Uncle Boogie- Prat/ Lerner
- Uncle Boogie is the other horse I like in this field. Prat gets the mount since Abel took off to ride #2 Spielberg. Uncle Boogie just missed against optional claimers and he seems to still be learning how to break good out of the gate. He seems to be out slow each start and it is costing him ground to make up in these sprints. He gets added distance today and a slightly better jockey. If Prat can’t help improve his gate breaking tendencies, then they might have to school him more in the mornings. Must use however.
TOP PICKS: #3 Weston, #2 Speilberg, #6 Uncle Boogie