Favorites look vulnerable in open handicap

One might assume that a lower-tier racing operation like Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Okla., would subsist on lower-level racing, but that is definitely not the case Wednesday, when half the 10 Will Rogers races are allowances or open handicaps.

Race 3 is a second-level six-furlong allowance; race 5 is an open handicap for fillies and mares over five furlongs; race 6 is a first-level route allowance; race 8 is an Oklahoma-bred entry-level sprint allowance; and race 9 is a two-turn open handicap.

Starting with race 9, likely favorite Gentrified appears to be vulnerable, if only because all his recent contending form – and standout Beyer Speed Figures – has come at Delta Downs. The difference between the Delta bullring and the larger Will Rogers oval is considerable, and Gentrified races Wednesday for trainer Kenneth Nolen after being based with Allen Landry in Louisiana last fall and winter.

Also in race 9 is Sorryaboutnothing, who has won both his starts this meet, his first two races at Will Rogers, including a March 23 handicap like the one he contests Wednesday. Longer term, however, Sorryaboutnothing has been a lower-level claiming horse and appears ripe for regression after one of the best performances of his career just three weeks ago.

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That leaves Mav Master as the tepid win choice in race 9. Mav Master exits two modest tries over the Sam Houston turf course but brought similar form to a Will Rogers allowance route on April 10, 2019, and won that race by a neck at odds of 17-1.

The filly-and-mare five-furlong handicap, race 5, includes Drip Brew and Ima Discreet Lady, who finished second and third, separated by a nose, in the six-furlong Wilma Mankiller Stakes on April 6 at Will Rogers. Drip Brew, a speed horse drawn well on the outside, is a five-time winner in short sprints and should be formidable Wednesday, though both she and Ima Discreet Lady tote top weight of 124 pounds. Ship Shape Miss carries 120 pounds in her first race since Oct. 16 and won a 5 1/2-furlong Will Rogers Handicap last May, albeit in the middle of a form cycle, not the start of one.

Race 3, the second-level filly-and-mare sprint allowance, looks very competitive and includes the talented Oklahoma-bred Okie Queen, a three-time winner in her four-start career. Okie Queen has proven adept at sprints as well as a mile and should offer fair odds stepping up in class to face open company following a smart statebred-restricted victory in her most recent start March 30 at Will Rogers. Karate Hottie, who cuts back from a mile to a more suitable sprint trip, and Girls A Bullet, who just missed rallying to win a race at this level March 31 at Will Rogers, are the likely favorites.