Bernier: Gulfstream pick four for Sunday, Dec. 14
The late pick four at Gulfstream seems like a rather salty sequence, and I’ll take a shot with a $32 ticket.
RACE 7
RAMBLE (2) debuted here on the grass in January and gave a credible showing of herself, only to be sidelined for the next 11 months. She’ll return here today for trainer Bill Mott, and she’ll receive Lasix for the first time. At a bit of a price, I have to use her in a very contentious opening leg of the sequence. Kiaran McLaughlin tried to get MUMTAAZAH (6) on the grass at the beginning of November at Aqueduct, only to see that race get washed off the turf. Today, she’ll make her grass debut, and I’m willing to include her – her work Nov. 30 is quite flashy. COLORFUL (8) is another who goes out for Mott, and if you draw a line through the Oct. 11 race at Belmont, which was an off-the-turf contest, her two prior efforts at Saratoga on the lawn are arguably good enough to get the job done here. She’s a logical contender. CORONETTE (10) needs to improve in a major way if she’s to win here for Michael Matz, but it’s worth noting that this will be her first start while wearing blinkers – a move Matz has had success with in the past, most notably with Somali Lemonade.
RACE 8
I could have singled MUNJAZ (6), the colt making his North American debut for McLaughlin, and have been completely content going forward. This son of Sea The Stars was previously trained by John Gosden, and now he’ll get Lasix for his debut in McLaughlin’s barn. The distance may be a tad short for him, but I’m expecting a solid performance from this guy. In case he doesn’t fire, I’ll also use the horse drawn just to his outside, KING OF BAY (7). I generally don’t like horses who have proven their inability to visit the winner’s circle multiple times, but I do fancy runners who face winners for the first time after taking a long time to win their maiden. He’s 6-1 on the morning line, but I’m hoping he goes off closer to 10-1.
RACE 9
I really don’t have a strong opinion here, so I’ll use four runners. I expect Javier Castellano and WHISKEY TAP (1) to sit a beautiful stalking trip throughout this contest going a one-turn mile. Although he doesn’t tower over the field on paper, he does come into this event off a win, and I see no reason why he can’t string together two in a row. Other runners I’ll also use include ANGEL’S SEA (3), CONVOLUTION (9), and BECKY’S KITTEN (11).
RACE 10
Hopefully, we’re alive heading into the payoff leg, and if I am, I’ll be alive to two runners. MARGIN (5) would seem to be strictly the horse to beat, as his grass efforts are quite strong, and he’ll be making his second start off the layoff for trainer Michael Pino – a move which he excels with. I also like that he’ll be cutting back from nine furlongs to 8 1/2 here, something that should work to his advantage. The only problem with this son of Arch is he’s going to be heavily used in all multirace wagers. My alternative runner seems a bit kooky on paper, but I think HAPPY TO BE HERE (10) has a legitimate shot in this race. Something had to seriously go wrong for this horse to miss more than a year of racing, but I can excuse the comeback effort (needed one for fitness), and the latest effort was a marked improvement from a Beyer Speed Figure perspective. His turf form in the summer of 2013 was decent enough to be competitive here, and if he can replicate one of those efforts he’s got a shot at a huge number.
THE TICKET
2,6,8,10 / 6,7 / 1,3,9,11 / 5,10