DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Saturday, June 6, 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.

12:30 GP 2nd R LOVE ON THE RUN (#2, 7-2) showing only three local works but moved forward showing good speed in latest. Might prove good fit debuting for this tag. -Mike Welsch

1:02 GP 3rd WHYRUAWESOME (#1, 8-1) getting much needed class relief here. Was bogged down on dead rail two back, hard used contesting pace trying seven panels last time. Eligible to wake up with this softer crew. -Mike Welsch

1:37 GP 4th BELIEVE INDEED (#10, 8-1) better on turf but has proven mettle on turf as well should this one switch to main. Good fit under conditions of this one. -Mike Welsch

1:50 BEL 2nd CAUSE OF ACTION (#7, 20-1) sprinted twice on turf last year at Woodbine and he ran well both times, first while holding his position in traffic until coming clear late and then bolting up to win, and then finding more traffic two starts later and just failing to get up; clearly isn’t a dirt horse and comes back to turf off the claim for an underrated trainer in a race that is not lacking for speed. -Mike Beer

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2:10 GP 5th CAPELINE (#6, 20-1) in new hands off the claim and dismal showing when relatively well back last time. Came back with pretty decent looking gate move for the level. Expecting big improvement at square price. -Mike Welsch

2:10 LRL 4th MOUSE CAT (#10, 6-1) broke dismally in career debut at Penn National, fell far behind in a race where the leaders ran 1-2-3 around the track and came with a decent late run to finish directly ahead of Two in the Bush (returned to graduate by 19 1/4 lengths for a $5,000 tag at Charles Town with a 64 Beyer, then beat $10,000 conditioned sellers with a 57). Hopefully the addition of blinkers will help her focus better leaving the stalls. -Dan Illman

2:23 BEL 3rd PARDSY (#4, 9-2) ships in from California for an excellent first-out trainer (O’Neill 16%, $3.57 ROI with older - 3yo and up - first time starters in dirt sprints over the past five years) with some strong works showing and attracts Castellano for his debut; dam was a debut winner for Pletcher several years ago, before going on to become a stakeswinning sprinter. -Mike Beer

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2:40 LRL 5th Wonder if ROCKSTAR GIRL (#7, 5-1) was claimed with the express purpose of getting her back to the turf as her career-best Beyer came over Laurel greenery last fall. In that route, she worked out a decent midpack trip in the two path, swung out in the stretch and only finished evenly in a race that was won by Jabuticaba (returned to finish second in the Parx Fillies Oaks with a 79 Beyer, then grabbed a $40,000 seller at Aqueduct with an 80; she’s won four of her last five races); Think this shorter distance works better for her and she doesn’t have to be too far off the pace, but it’s worth noting she was a vet scratch here last Friday. -Dan Illman

2:55 BEL 4th HIGH TONE (#2, 9-2) hasn’t come all that close to winning after four starts so far but he did not have an easy trip after breaking slowly in his turf debut- which remains his lone start on this surface to date - and he improved last time while making good pace on dirt and only weakening late; would like to see him on the lead here as he makes his first start vs. fellow NY-breds. -Mike Beer

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3:10 LRL 6th CAREY TIMES (#6, 6-1) is very fast, but he hasn’t been allowed to use that natural speed in his last couple. Two back, he broke sharp, but was rated hard to track favored Bodexpress as that one shook loose. He still finished ahead of two next-out winners. Most recently, he was pinched hard from in between horses in the opening furlong, then rushed up to duel outside with the eventual fourth-place finisher through some wicked fractions. He shouldn’t have a problem getting to the lead against this field and could be very tough if allowed to relax during the opening three furlongs. -Dan Illman

3:14 GP 7th GUMP (#5, 5-1) in new hands again, seemed to be cycling back to best form for Joseph barn. Could prove controlling speed in race lacking much in the way of any real pace. -Mike Welsch

3:40 LRL 7th TOUGHEST ‘OMBRE (#3, 10-1) hasn’t raced on turf since finishing second behind oddson winner Salute the Colonel in a little starter stakes race at Gulfstream last summer (Salute the Colonel was winning his third in a row and returned to finish second in a starter-optional with an 87 Beyer). After being bumped at the start, he tracked the moderate pace two to three wide before finishing evenly in between horses. He has good tactical speed in a race lacking much pace and while he’s run decently on dirt over the winter, it’s likely he’s slightly more effective on grass. -Dan Illman

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5:10 LRL 10th Don’t think fitness will be a problem for SOUTHSIDE WARRIOR (#7, 8-1) as trainer Hugh McMahon is 6 for 13 (46%, $6.06 ROI) over the past five years with older lastout winners returning from 61 to 120 day layoffs. It’s more an issue of whether this veteran is at his best distance sprinting, especially if the pace doesn’t heat up early. Consistent campaigner should be running late. If not on Saturday, he can be followed in middle-distance races in the region. -Dan Illman

6:40 BEL 11th LONESOME FUGITIVE #6, 5-2) is a DRF Best Bet (Mike Beer).

8:42 SA 11th The most probable winner on the card, DIM LIGHTS (#9, 4-1) was chewed up on a hot pace in her stakes-race comeback. She moves into a Cal-bred allowance that came up short on speed, gets the outside post where she has the option of pressing the pace or taking charge, and gets a six-pound weight from older rivals. Long gone on the front end. -Brad Free