Illman: How I'd play Gulfstream for Saturday, Feb. 13
Saturday's card at Gulfstream features some excellent betting races. Here are a few opinions.
Race 4
The featured fourth race is the Grade 2 Royal Delta Stake,s and the two probable favorites have some questions to answer. SANDIVA (5) is the best horse, but she has never raced on dirt and it's hard to take a strong stance on a complete unknown at a very short price. While Sandiva's trainer, Todd Pletcher, recently transformed Mshawish from a classy turf horse into an equally able dirt performer, it must be noted that Mshawish has dirt influences in his pedigree. Sandiva, on the other hand, boasts classic turf bloodlines. I'll take a position against Sandiva, although she would hardly be a surprise considering this is a short field bereft of true graded competitors.
I prefer BEST BEHAVIOR (6), but she will stretch out around two turns for the first time in start No. 29 and it's possible that the 1 1/16-mile distance of the Royal Delta is a bridge too far. That being said, she's sharp and should get the jump on Sandiva turning for home. I would need 5-2 or 3-1 before playing her to win, but will use her in multiple-race exotics. If both Sandiva and Best Behavior come up short, perhaps PENWITH (4) is the alternative. She should be used in horizontals.
Race 11
DETERRENT (10) can make it two in a row in the 11th race, a five-furlong turf dash for $25,000 optional claimers. The 6-year-old returned from a freshening to pound $16,000 platers here on New Year's Day and he has yet to give a bad effort over this turf course. While some may wonder if he can handle today's class hike, Deterrent ran competitively at this level last winter, and seems back to that form. Win players receive fair value at 3-1 or better. I'd take that route as well as singling him in the daily double into race 12.
Race 12
There are some intriguing first-time starters attempting a two-turn route in this race. While CONQUEST STORMY (5, Mark Casse) and WATHNAN (11, Todd Pletcher) boast strong pedigrees and connections, I prefer experienced runners in these kind of races.
In the daily double, I'll use SIR DUDLEY DIGGES (9), who has faced strong competition on both turf and dirt for trainer Michael Maker. Two starts back, he was hooked up on the pace before tiring behind next-out Grade 3-placed performer Urban Bourban. Sir Dudley Digges should be forwardly placed from the start.
I'll also play ARCTIC JOY (4), a Wesley Ward-trained son of Kitten's Joy who made a premature four-wide bid for the lead entering the final turn on New Year's Eve. He hung in gamely in the stretch and has been given plenty of time to recover from that demanding effort.
He probably won't get in from the also-eligible list, but SILENT MISSION (16) might deserve a place on the watch list. The Scat Daddy homebred boasts excellent workouts for Wesley Ward and might find a better spot for a debut try later in the meeting.
Good luck!