DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Thursday, July 30, 2020
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.
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12:40 LRL 1st It's hard not to root for OAK BLUFFS (#7, 3-1), a venerable 10-year-old that notched his twentieth lifetime victory under a perfect Paco Lopez ride at Gulfstream on May 29. Saved ground at the back of the pack, received a beautiful rail-skimming run in the lane and was up in the shadow of the wire. Multiple stakes-winner will have to be close to his best if he is to upend this salty group and the late-kicker is hoping he gets plenty of pace to attack late. -Dan Illman
1:40 LRL 3rd EJE GAMA (#6, 10-1) might not have much upside after 15 losses, but this will be his first turf sprint and he seems to be coming into it in good form. Pushed favored Embrace the Grind (finished fifth) through some very fast fractions going two turns last out, put that horse away turning into the stretch and held on for a piece despite coming out sharply under left-handed urging. The first- and third-place finishers were 13 and 17 lengths off the pace, respectively, after the opening half-mile so Eje Gama deserves extra credit for lasting as long as he did. -Dan Illman
2:02 GP 5th KATIESDREAMGIRL (#8, 2-1) is a DRF Best Bet (Marty McGee).
2:20 SAR 3rd TULA (#5, 8-1) dropped her rider at Keeneland last April but surrounded that unfortunate event with three straight wins, two of those on turf while putting differing running styles on display; returns on the drop for an excellent layoff trainer. -Mike Beer
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2:40 LRL 5th ZOLA B (#4, 6-1) should benefit from solid learning debut going short. Last on the rail turning into the straight, she eventually altered course to the far outside and was running on late. Half-sister to seven-time stakes-winner Alwaysmining shouldn't have any issues with the additional distance and it's nice to see her back on relatively short notice for sharp barn. -Dan Illman
3:06 GP 7th Sure seems like the new connections of LOVE NEST (#7, 9-2) got him at the right time. Nearly 10-length romp when outclassing $8k milers can be followed up today when getting away smartly from the open-air outer box; no excuses under the 7-pound bug when recouping a good chunk of the modest investment. -Marty McGee
3:20 WO 1st SAYSO (#1, 7-2) is going from the OS/$40K level to meet easier NW2 company in this $25K seller. Seven-eighths on the Tapeta appears to be her preferred trip. -Ron Gierkink
3:40 GP 8th First-time blinks perhaps enough to awaken AWESOME ENOUGH (#6, 9-2), one of a handful of viables in this N2L-$16k turf dash; the two-back maiden romp was followed by a decent first attempt at this level; forward trip under the perennially underrated Vasquez puts him in the game. -Marty McGee
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3:52 WO 2nd DAD'S MISSY (#6, 4-1) rallied wide from off sleepy fractions for third in her improved second race off the bench vs. $25K 3yo fillies. She's meeting older $15K NW2 distaffers here with the red-hot leading Hernandez taking over. -Ron Gierkink
4:10 LRL 8th QUIET COMPANY (#9, 3-1) is a DRF Best Bet (Dan Illman).
6:18 SAR 10th EVERY MINUTE (#2, 7-2) debuted vs. MSW rivals at Belmont and raced very greenly from the start while outrun early, before catching up through the turn, and then going greenly again in the stretch while drifting over to the rail instead of racing on after the leaders; drops and can take a step forward with that experience behind him. -Mike Beer
6:43 WO 7th CITY BOY (#4, 8-1) faded to fifth after a three-wide stalking trip when coming off the sidelines in the G2 Connaught Cup. That tightener should set him up perfectly for this open allowance going six furlongs, the distance of his upset score in last year's G2 Nearctic. -Ron Gierkink
7:15 WO 8th JUSTCALL ME CANDY (#5, 6-1) is descending to a new low in this bottom $7.5K maiden sprint, while cutting back from seven to 5 1/2 furlongs. She could put it all together with the addition of blinkers. -Ron Gierkink
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