Bernier: How I'll play Gulfstream Park on Saturday, March 24
While most people will be focusing on the giant jackpot carryover in the Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, I’m most interested in playing a daily double that links races 11 and 12. Race 12 is the Grade 3 Hutcheson going six furlongs for 3-year-olds on the main track, and there’s a runner in there whom I’m particularly interested in. I’m hoping to successfully navigate my way through the 11th race and be alive in a double to him in the Hutcheson; here’s how I’ll attack the play.
RACE 11 – OPTIONAL CLAIMER
It may be a mistake throwing out a Chad Brown runner going long on turf, but the long layoff for DEEPLY UNDERVALUED (2) is cause for pause in my mind. A graded stakes winner at 3, this son of Kitten’s Joy has been gelded in his time away from the track; if he returns in similar form to that he showed in the 2016 Commonwealth Derby, he’ll be a handful. From a value standpoint, however, I think he’s going to be overbet, and therefore I’ll try to beat him.
ROCKETRY (3) is rock solid, but he’s likely better going a longer distance (both lifetime victories have come at 11 furlongs). Still, his return Feb. 11 was solid, and he should move forward for Jimmy Jerkens. BRONSON (5) may lag behind from a speed-figure standpoint, but Mike Maker has been on a tear with these types at Gulfstream recently (FORMULATOR FACT: Past six months, turf, 61-180 days, routes, Gulfstream: 6 for 12, $7.83 ROI), and he’s bred to be a serious runner. CONQUEST SANDMAN (7) has been in great form recently, it’s hard to ignore him in a race like this.
RACE 12 – HUTCHESON
There may be more likely win candidates than MADISON’S LUNA (3), but his ceiling is as high as any other entrant’s – if not higher. A son of Tapit, this 3-year-old is a half-sibling to Grade 1 winners Tara’s Tango and Visionaire as well as Grade 3 winner Scarlet Strike. The career debut at Tampa on Feb. 10 was promising, as he ran down a loose-on-the-lead runner tenaciously. Madison’s Luna was very green down the stretch, but that gives me hope that there’s serious room for improvement from start No. 1 to start No. 2.
THE PLAY
$10 DOUBLE: 3,5,7 with 3
