DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Saturday, February 8, 2025

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.

12:05 TAM 1st HIGHLAND HOLIDAY (#3, 9-2) stretches out off what could well have been a sprint prep and she seems to land in a good spot in terms of race flow, as she may be the controlling speed under jockey Paco Lopez; dangerous if allowed to set her own pace on a loose lead. – Kenny Peck

12:49 GP 2nd FREDERICKSBURG (#5, 15-1) broke slow, got knocked around and hung wide early, made middle run before succumbing from effort after being poorly posted in debut. Stays put, draws inside, Taken to show big improvement at second asking if able to leave with the field. May ultimately prove one to catch. – Mike Welsch

2:08 AQU 4th HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPS (#4, 9-2) shaped with potential early on while showing big speed in his races; was sidelined after a failed attempt on turf last summer; broke from the outside and was forced to chase a fast pace when returned from the layoff last time, and he only tired in the late stages of that race; threat to improve in his second start back. – Mike Beer

2:14 TAM 5th DREAMING OF KONA (#6, 6-1) is a DRF Best Bet (Kenny Peck).

2:20 GP 5th DOVE IN CHARGE (#3, 10-1) not given much chance from the outset and possibly bounced some off huge try five weeks earlier for similar tag. Gets a mulligan, likely to be a square price back with same kind again here. – Mike Welsch

2:28 OP 3rd BANG BANG FURY (#2, 4-1) is appealing for her consistent nature and the fact that she has an age edge on a number of these as she is 4. She's a half-sister to the stakes-placed Pate ($150K). – Mary Rampellini

3:08 AQU 6th PAULA'S A STAR (#2, 7-2) is a DRF Best Bet (Mike Beer).

3:38 AQU 7th WALK WITH ME (#7, 8-1) earned the debut win while battling on the lead before lasting late, then ran in two stakes races to no avail - though she finished a good second in the rich Fifth Avenue while using a different running style; also ran well going a mile two back, before chasing the pace and tiring over a wet track when last seen; back from a long layoff in a spot where she can be competitive at a fair price if ready. – Mike Beer

4:55 OP 8th BON TEMPS (#6, 15-1) is back in the maiden ranks following a pair of stakes starts. – Mary Rampellini

5:14 TAM 11th SMOKEN BOY (#9, 20-1) was near the early lead in his first two starts but he rated very effectively in his stakes debut at Camarero, making a sweeping move on the turn to make up a fair deficit and drawing off late to win geared down; he did meander in the lane, to the inside and out, but today's addition of blinkers should help to address that issue, and he could be good enough to win the Sam F. Davis if he can continue to improve, as he clearly got better with each 2024 start. – Kenny Peck

5:48 GP 12th WIN WITH FAITH (#9, 8-1) an improving sort, gets shaky nod in wide open nightcap stepping up off relatively well graded maiden victory over this surface. – Mike Welsch

7:34 SA 9th A shorter trip and class drop from N2X to N1X/optional claiming benefits EXCELERINA (#2, 10-1), whose comeback last month was actually okay despite losing by double digits. She sped to a crazy lead in that mile race, but faded after a blistering half-mile in :45.34. Now she meets easier (entered for the $50k optional tag), and shortens to six and one-half furlongs on the hill. With a front-running or pace-pressing trip, she can be gone. – Brad Free