Daddy's Boo steps up in class, seeks clear early lead

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – After a four-day Fourth of July race week, during which the highest-class fare to be found was a first-level allowance, two upper-shelf turf allowance races are a welcome sight on the Thursday program at Arlington.

After racing three-day weeks (and with only eight races per card, a mere 24 races per week) during May and June, Arlington adds Thursday programs for four-day race weeks during July and August. The first of those cards gets a slow start but steadily picks up steam and hits its high point in race 6, basically a third-level allowance with an $80,000 claiming option for female turf-route horses. Race 7 is a second-level turf-route allowance that drew a pretty deep and competitive group.

There are eight fillies and mares in race 6, and barring a poor start, you will find Daddy’s Boo on the lead shortly after the gate springs. Ridden by noted front-end jockey E.T. Baird, Daddy’s Boo is a confirmed front-runner whose high Beyer Speed Figures and strong recent form have made her the 8-5 morning-line favorite. But victory is far from assured. Daddy’s Boo could take a hint of pace pressure from My Mertie and even Stormin Elle, and she is exiting $16,000 starter-allowance races to face a higher-class bunch. If Baird can secure an easy lead, it might not matter; if he can’t, it might.

Stormin Elle just ran her best race since 2014 when she won the Mike Spellman Memorial for Illinois-bred fillies last month, but she could not have gotten a better trip that day, perched just off a slow pace. She could be in for a similar journey Thursday, but it’s more likely she’ll be drawn into a quicker early and middle tempo.

A faster pace is exactly what Prado’s Sweet Ride needs, and in hopes she gets it, and in anticipation of good value, she’s the pick to win. Prado’s Sweet Ride finished fifth in the Spellman but was beaten only two lengths and had little chance to close ground when the horses in front of her finished strongly off a slow pace. She’s made only two starts this year, has room to improve, and was a Grade 3 winner during a productive 3-year-old campaign last year.

Race 7 also includes the winner of an Illinois-bred turf-route stakes last month, Cammack, and, like Stormin Elle, he can benefit from a front-running trip on a pokey pace. Cammack came home fast enough to win by a half-length, his third straight victory, but while he can win with a similar performance Thursday, it’s difficult to imagine this 6-year-old with 18 starts running any better. Moreover, there is the question of Cammack – and several others – staying this race’s nine-furlong distance.

Alpha Kitalpha has a Polytrack win at the distance and holds some appeal at something close to double-digit win odds. This 7-year-old showed plenty of ability way back in 2013 but has since struggled to find consistent form. He finally looked more like his best self in springing an 11-1 surprise in a first-level allowance race June 10, and despite the horse’s struggles, trainer Wayne Catalano never has risked him for a claiming tag, patience that might pay off this summer.

Ruffolo is another one to consider. Just a 4-year-old, he had a productive winter campaign at Tampa Bay Downs, and his performance in a one-mile allowance race at this class level May 21 hinted at a horse who might appreciate another furlong.