DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Thursday, December 9, 2021
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.
1:26 GP 3rd First of 5 Tapeta races on the day could get its winner from any of a handful of these N2L-eligible 3- and 4yos, with BUENISIMO (#4, 9-2) among them; he'll need a new rider with Irad having accepted a 30-day suspension from the NY stewards, but that's neither here nor there, given that he, like most of the other contenders, needs to shake his bridesmaid's tag, regardless of jock; decent closing kick might be enough in his second try here for Ms. Kelsey. -Marty McGee
1:44 AQU 3rd ADDILYN (#1, 8-1) is just 2 for 27 lifetime, but she has spent most of her career racing vs. much tougher competition and won easily while facing claiming rivals for just the second time in her career in May with a 73 Beyer; drops back down and cuts back for her second start off the layoff. -Mike Beer
2:28 GP 5th Giving DEFENSIBLE (#5, 10-1) a solid chance to suddenly turn it around in this wide-open first leg of the Rainbow 6 as he stretches out on synth for Motion, who saw the Blame colt lose all chance in the opening yards of his debut after attracting noticeable tote play in that Laurel MSW off-the-turf dash; likely won't be as high as his 10-1 M/L, if only because Saez will be up, but yeah, he's a live price play given these much different circumstances. -Marty McGee
2:38 AQU 5th CREDIT SUSPENDED (#12, 8-1) is bred to win early being out of a dam who broke her maiden as a 2yo with a 91 Beyer, before going to run finish 2nd in the Grade 3 Schuylerville during an abbreviated career; Ryerson underrated with his first time starters and this filly is a sister to six-time winner Blewitt, as well as the stakes-winning sprinter No Mo' Spending. -Mike Beer
3:08 AQU 6th DEALING JUSTICE (#3, 9-2) caught a wet track going seven off the layoff last time and she hung in gamely down to midstretch after contesting the pace, before ultimately tiring late; had faced some tough competition in her losses prior to that, and her two wins returned solid figures, both over this distance. -Mike Beer
3:58 LRC 2nd Sharp pace-presser MINOSO (#2, 3-1) gets the call over speedster JUSTAMITCH in this $6.2k restricted claiming sprint. MINOSO fired each of his last five starts including a solid win last out for $3.2k in which he won with a pressing trip outside the speed. He figures for a similar trip here, outside likely pacesetter JUSTAMITCH, who won five of his last nine in shorter races open to Quarter Horses. -Brad Free
3:59 GP 8th Sure can't blame the prodigal GP son Stidham for trying NOVEL IDEA (#6, 10-1) on the Tapeta, given how the Godolphin homebred fared pretty well on turf in Delaware; last-out drubbing over the Gulf main at least maintained the fitness; giving her a solid chance to improve in a big way in what's clearly one of the deeper races of the card. -Marty McGee
4:04 AQU 8th BEHIND THE COUCH (#9, 5-1) had some early success before losing her form early last year; improved off the claim for this trainer while alternating between surfaces; looms like a good fit here in a race that might not be run at a fast pace. -Mike Beer
5:28 LRC 7th UNFAITHFUL WAYS (#7, 5-1) ran better-than-looked last out finishing third in a maiden-32; the 2yo filly can win second start back moving to Cal-bred maiden-50. In her comeback last month, she got stuck inside and behind runners through the turn, stalled in neutral while waiting for room, swing out and finished evenly for third. Solid effort with an imperfect trip. Now she moves to an outside post facing modest fields, and can rally wide for the win second start back. -Brad Free | Get PPs for this race