Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Cadeau de Paix should appreciate class relief as she drops in for a tag

Aqueduct | Race 6 | Post Time 2:58 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up

Possible favorite Wisconsin Night (#9) returned from a lengthy layoff last time for Linda Rice, taking advantage of the claiming price waiver rule to compete without the risk of being taken for $25,000. The quality of that last race is a little questionable, since the first- and third-place finishers returned to regress. Yet this filly has every right to step forward now, and it’s a good sign that she’s bumped up to the $40,000 level in her second start back.

Some may perceive her main rival to be Teletype (#2), but I’m a little skeptical of this filly. Typically, you’re supposed to bet against horses like this, since she is going to take money because of her connections and that she's earned some of the top speed figures in the field. However, all of those were achieved on turf. She has clearly improved in the Rudy Rodriguez barn this year, but her dirt debut at a 2-year-old actually wasn’t that bad, as she showed speed before fading behind the talented Lyrical Lady. She might not be a one-dimensional turfer, but it’s still hard to take a short price on her.

My top pick is CADEAU DE PAIX (#10). This filly hasn’t seen much action over the past several months, requiring a pair of layoffs after breaking her maiden last spring. While she ran poorly in her two subsequent starts, she was facing significantly tougher rivals in both of those races. Her Saratoga performance was actually pretty good, and a repeat of that effort would make her pretty tough to beat here. It's the last effort that is of concern, but at least she’s coming back in just 4 weeks at a more realistic level. She also may get the right pace setup this time.

THE PLAY

Win: 10

Exacta key box: 10 with 1, 2, 9

Trifecta: 10 with 1, 2, 9 with 1, 2, 3, 9