BreezeFigs Quick-Pix, Saturday, March 11th
Last Saturday's Quick-Pix were somewhat compromised by the scratches of our two top selections at Aqueduct--Santa's Special and Herecomeshollywood--but the next three finished 1-2-3 for a $16 win payoff on Little Cherokee with a $73 quinella, $145.50 exacta and $559 trifecta. Noonmark almost got up in the Swale at Gulfstream and it seems clear that our pick at Tampa Bay, Fair Maiden, is one you might want to use only underneath in her next start, and a drop in class would help.
On to this weekend:
Aqueduct, , Maiden Special, 1 1/16 Miles
An exceptionally tough race, with five BreezeFigs candidates entered before scratches. If he makes it to the gate this time, our selection is Santa's Special who was scratched from last week's race (see above). Although he has a new trainer, he looks to be very playable as a straight wager but especially in the gimmicks. Sneaky play here could be Riverdale, who was one under Par at a very good sale and looks like he's finally in a race where he can stretch out and roll.
Golden Gate, , Maiden Special, 1 1/16 Miles TURF
It doesn't show in the PP's, but Res Ipsa was an RNA at KEEAPR, where he breezed twice, once on the dirt with a two below Par effort, and then on the turf where he was four points above Par and increased his stride length by three feet. He might be overplayed, because he's shipping from Southern California, but if he shows up and it's still on the turf, he looks very good to us.
Gulfstream, , Maiden Special, 7 Furlongs
Here's the most interesting play of the day. Giant Act has been trying to get into a race for a couple of weeks after a bummer of a debut when he ducked out and lost all chance. He breezed twice at one of the best sales last year, FTFFEB, with diametically opposite results. At 1/8 of a mile, he was unimpressive, a Group 3 with a five below Par effort. But the following week, he went a quarter of a mile and settled nicely to earn Group 2, two over Par move. He increased his stride length by two feet in this breeze, and he looks like the type of horse that, if he gets a good start, might be a surprise. Use him.