How to bet Gulfstream Park's Sunday Pick 6 - Feb. 26, 2012
A great Saturday of racing and wagering is followed by another banner day Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012, when Gulfstream Park stages the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, a race that falls in the sequence of the track’s unique 10-cent minimum pick six. Below is a quick look at the six races, and I'm building my recommended wager with TicketMaker, found exclusively on DRF.com.
Race 7 ($51,500 maiden special weight)
A 7 ½-furlong maiden race for turf horses, this race is made more contentious by seemingly the two best horses drawing unfavorably on the far outside. Despite one of these poor draws, the top selection is PREACH TOME DADDY (#11), who ran third in his debut in an off-the-turf contest contested in the slop Jan. 29. He’s a logical move-up candidate, getting the chance to run on the grass, and being by turf sire Scat Daddy. BEIJOCA (#12) also goes on the ticket, having run second in her lone start, as does stretch-out runner MISS MONTREAL (#6), who should save more ground than the aforementioned two.
Race 8 ($51,500 maiden special weight)
Straight maidens are up next going seven furlongs, and I’ll go three deep, using TREND SETTER (#12), UNBRIDLED FIRE (#9), and SPIN OUT (#3). All ran well in their lone races, and are logical candidates to improve. Trend Setter is the preferred choice, starting for a barn whose second-time starters often jump up after their initial efforts. He also gets blinkers and jockey Javier Castellano.
Race 9 ($56,500 optional claimer)
Overachieving former claimer FRESHMAN DORM (#5) is the selection to win this second-level allowance on the grass. He rattled off four start wins before a narrow defeat to Hyper in his lone start of the meet after breaking poorly. Also taking the entry of DEAL MAKING (#1) and UTLEY (#1), both of whom fit well against this level of competition, and further intriguing is Euro import SLOW PACE (#4), who was Group 2 placed in France last year.
Race 10 (Grade 2, $150,000 Mac Diarmida)
Uncoupled stablemates MUSKETIER (#2) and SIMMARD (#5) are long distance turf specialists well suited to the 1 3/8-mile distance of the Grade 2 Mac Diarmida. Musketier wins with more often, though Simmard might have run the better race of the two when rallying wide to finish second to Musketier in the McKnight late last year.
Race 11 (Grade 2, $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth)
Now it’s time for the Fountain of Youth, with UNION RAGS (#7) taking on the uncoupled dynamic duo of Todd Pletcher trainees ALGORITHMS (#2) and DISCREET DANCER (#5). Purely from a value standpoint, the speedy Discreet Dancer is the choice. With the other two runners being tracking/stalking types, the lead could be his for the taking. Union Rags, a wide second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his lone defeat, is the second selection, followed by Algorithms, the morning-line favorite who is perfect in three starts.
Race 12 ($25,000 maiden claiming race)
Another group of maiden $35,000 claimers on the turf closes out the card, and the aim is to take the class on the grass, going two deep. Class droppers YES HE'S TROUBLE (#3) and PIKESTER (#8) are the most probable winners.
My wagers
With TicketMaker I'm able to put greater emphasis on my "A" selections while still having coverage with my "B" and "C" picks just in case. This allows me to maximize my budget for this pick six.
