Super Saturday was super at least for Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who swept the last three races on the program, including a win in the Group 1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 with African Story, their 2014 Dubai World Cup winner.
Going to try a small ticket in the late pick four Saturday at Santa Anita, which, following the scratch of Chitu from the ninth race, leaves the sequence with two singles – CONQUEST TWO STEP (4) in the ninth and SHARED BELIEF in the Big Cap, race 11. Hoping to connect to a price in the first leg and potentially make the pick four return respectable; obviously CONQUEST TWO STEP and SHARED BELIEF will be singled on many tickets.
BURNING TIME (#4) went down as the odds-on favorite in his latest, but that was no easy trip, and the trouble he encountered certainly cost him a better placing. His previous Beyer Speed Figures fit very well here, and he'll be tough if he runs to them in his first start off the claim for a barn that has had recent success with such runners. BURNING TIME is the lone "A," but just in case he doesn't rebound off that effort, I'll take a little insurance on the class dropper OLD TIMES SAKE (#3), who figures to be involved from the start.
Download positive ROI trainer statistics for Saturday's cards at Aqueduct, Delta Downs, Fair Grounds, Fonner Park, Golden Gate, Gulfstream, Hawthorne, Sam Houston, Los Alamitos, Mahoning Valley Racecourse, Meydan, Mountaineer Park, Oaklawn Park, Penn National, Parx Racing, Santa Anita, Sunland Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Turfway Park, and Turf Paradise. The report features top trainer angles, top trainer/jockey combinations, and profitable betting angles based on a trainer's record in similar situations.
Download a list of horses exiting races where two or more of the competitors have come back to win their next starts. Saturday's report features races from Aqueduct, Charles Town, Delta Downs, Fair Grounds, Fonner Park, Golden Gate, Gulfstream, Hawthorne, Sam Houston, Laurel Park, Los Alamitos, Mahoning Valley Racecourse, Oaklawn Park, Penn National, Parx Racing, Rillito, Santa Anita, Sunland Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Turfway Park, and Turf Paradise.
Two big fields that sandwich a competitive Grade 3 Las Flores give the day’s final pick three some appeal.
Trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Friday that the undefeated Khozan is off the Kentucky Derby trail after coming back from a routine gallop at Palm Beach Downs that morning off in his right hind ankle.
Download DRF Plus handicapping reports for Saturday's races, including DRF Daily GamePlan, the Positive ROI Report, and Key Race Report.
All of Todd Pletcher’s runners need to be taken seriously at Gulfstream Park, but especially his first-time starters. CHIPIT (2) makes his debut for Pletcher and Alto Racing, and although the morning times for this son of Tapit don’t jump off the page, it would be foolish to leave him off tickets.
The $75,000 Nodouble Stakes, which was canceled last weekend due to inclement weather, headlines the Sunday program at Oaklawn Park. Mallard’s Bro will be making a rare start at one turn for the six-furlong race restricted to 3-year-olds and up bred in Arkansas.
