Beer: Gulfstream pick three for Sunday, March 27
Race 7
The horse to beat in this maiden special weight race for 3-year-old fillies on turf is Akron Gold (#3). She has run well in both of her starts while coming up short at the end, and this field may have a tough time beating her. There are a couple of other runners of interest in this race, but Akron Gold is a must use.
Akron Gold’s stablemate, Sweetbaby (#11), is a first-time starter out of the mare Rutherienne, who won 10 graded stakes on turf for this trainer a few years ago, including the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, en route to putting more than $1.2 million in the bank. Christophe Clement is among the best trainers in the game with horses debuting going long on grass, and Sweetbaby appears to be training forwardly toward her debut.
The other horse I want to use is Island Reward (#7). This filly improved markedly with the switch to turf in her first start back from the layoff and displayed a nice tractable style in that race. (3)
Race 8
Fair Advantage (#7) is the horse to beat in the middle leg. This horse improved throughout the second half of his 3-year-old season and concluded the year by earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 86 while facing a much tougher field than this at the end of November. Since he is off the layoff, I’ll also use The Schwam (#6), who improved sharply in his first start off the claim for a dangerous trainer and has the kind of early speed that should play well in this field. (2)
Race 9
Successful Native (#7) gets a positive cutback in distance for this race, and he has simply been in a bit over his head, while still running well, in his recent starts sprinting on turf. His good race makes him tough in this field, and he is a generous price on the morning line. (1)