DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Friday, July 17, 2020

With most other North American sports being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, we hope the sport of horse racing can entertain you during these trying times. Daily Racing Form has served as the most trusted source of news and information about the sport since 1894, and moving forward we have decided to provide a free daily playbook – something that both hardcore horseplayers and casual observers can reference to get informed of each day’s action.

12:00 GP 1st Gonna forgive MUCHA SUERTE (#5, 5-1) for that poor main-track effort in her latest and give her a solid chance in the noon ET opener; reverting back to the 6/7 speed show would carry her right into this scrambled mix. -Marty McGee

1:41 LRL 3rd SECURITY BREACH (#4, 6-1) is a candidate to improve in his turf debut as the dam won three stakes races on the sod including Belmont’s Perfect Sting with a 95 Beyer. Washed off the turf last time out, he didn’t seem comfortable on the wet track and can move forward with that race under his girth. July 11 workout matches up with Saintly Samurai, a Motion-trained runner entered in today’s ninth race. -Dan Illman

2:20 SAR 3rd GHOST GAME (#5, 10-1) improved noticeably with the class relief two back while making a strong run to prevail after having to steady back early, and he took another step forward last time while coming with a game late finish into a modest pace to fall just of short 2nd; stretches out off the claim for Servis, who has made a positive impression from limited starters so far (20% wins and a positive ROI from his first 98 starts) and who is 2 for 4 off the claim. -Mike Beer

2:41 WO 4th CAPE NERO (#6, 8-1) got away slowly before finishing on the edges when going long in his comeback. That should set him up nicely for this identical event, especially when you consider that he ran well second-time out last year. -Ron Gierkink

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3:05 GP 7th R PREROGATIVE (#5, 5-2) hasn’t gotten much done since winning last fall at Calder, but those failed efforts came in tougher allowances and now she returns from a 10+ week layoff in an N3L for a quarter; Averill filly can take these deep down the lane with all that fresh speed to burn. -Marty McGee

3:18 WO 5th DOT’S VISION (#8 8-1) was just a nose away from winning both of his inner turf excursions going 7 1/2 furlongs last year. He was a prominent second in his comeback in an optional starter, and is meeting slightly easier in this $20K claimer. -Ron Gierkink

3:28 SAR 5th VOLIERO (#2, 9-2) 0-4 to start with figures falling in a tight range but he may have more to offer after being compromised by post position and trip in each of those starts; gets one more chance while finally moving inside, as he may have much more positional speed than he has been able to show from his outside draws. -Mike Beer

4:33 LRL 8th Curious to see how GIRLS LOVE ME (#10, 15-1) performs in second start following a 700-day layoff. Lots of turf in this pedigree as the dam won on the lawn and the second dam grabbed the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on grass at Keeneland. Lightly-raced gelding must deal with other speeds in this spot. -Dan Illman

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4:40 SAR 7th CATCH A BID (#1, 9-2) is a DRF Best Bet (Mike Beer).

4:57 WO 8th OPTIMYSTICAL (#7, 8-1) disappointed in four straight races after his troubled second on debut last year. He’s dropping sharply to the lower ranks, and could make some noise at a price if able to duplicate his ‘19 opener. -Ron Gierkink

5:00 LRL 9th MY FRIENDS BEER (#4, 9-2) chased a slow pace while three wide around both turns in solid allowance field (fourth-finisher returned to place second on turf with a 79 Beyer) and now cuts back to distance of maiden victory over this track. Stakes-placed 3-yearold kept some nice company at Oaklawn over the winter and can threaten these with a late bid. WELLING really seemed to appreciate that sloppy footing when graduating in off-the-turf heat at this trip. Tracked the slow pace three wide, attacked to the lead under confident handling on the turn and widened in the final sixteenth. Curlin gelding seems to be figuring the game out and can work out a similar trip here. -Dan Illman

6:00 MTH 3rd SANAVI (#3, 4-1) ran a deceptively good race for the show in his latest, a race that was relatively short on pace, as he was moving fairly well through the lane despite being at that tactical disadvantage; makes his first start off the claim for trainer Greg Sacco, who better long-term stats than short term with new faces, and he should get a much improved race flow this afternoon. -Kenny Peck

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6:18 SAR 10th GOLCONDA (#9, 12-1) never threatened while behind several of these same rivals in this condition at Belmont last month but he was conservatively ridden there in his first start off the layoff and was racing on well late after getting caught behind horses coming to the stretch and having to steady; 5yo maiden should be set for an improved effort now and he has better turf races in his past. -Mike Beer

6:30 MTH 4th TEMPERANCE (#7, 5-1) might be able to shake loose in the opening stages of this route, coming off a sprint try at Belmont where she set the early pace while under pressure from the start; she doesn’t necessarily need the lead, as she showed in her maiden win two back, but if she can get clear with relative ease it would give her a tactical edge on main rivals REAL DOOZIE and PEACEFUL FEELING. -Kenny Peck

7:30 MTH 6th COMPLETED (#8, 12-1) couldn’t have had much more traffic trouble than she did in her debut, first getting held up due to a lack of room on the turn and then getting stopped in the stretch when caught between the rail and a tiring rival; may be overlooked some in the wagering here, as the resulting Beyer is of course light, but she’s much better than that, and trainer Jonathan Thomas is extremely good with horses making their second career starts. Also using POST RANCH (#5, 12-1), who makes her career debut for trainer Michael Stidham, who scored with firster Big Red Rocks here last week, and these two were apparently working in company. -Kenny Peck

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