King: Gulfstream Park pick four play for Jan. 5, 2018

With two stakes as part of the sequence, here is my early pick four ticket for Gulfstream on Saturday.

Race 2

The first stakes of the day, the Limehouse at six furlongs, this race has three horses that seem a cut above the others. They include Final Jeopardy (6), a first-out maiden winner; Combination (2), third most recently in a stakes after a debut win; and speedy Parx Racing invader Splicethemainbrace (7).

Race 3

Maidens go seven furlongs in this race, and the experience Laughing Bobby (1) gained when running fourth with a troubled trip at Churchill on debut may give him an edge. He is the value on the morning line at 9-2.

First-timers Global Campaign (6) and Growth Empire (5) also merit play in the pick four, giving off positive impressions with quick works.

Race 4

The Todd Pletcher-trained She Loves It (7) finds an opportune spot in which to debut, catching a maiden $50,000 claiming group that seems below average for the level. Not surprisingly given her immediate placement for a tag, her works are not flashy.

Marina View (5) is preferred of those with racing experience, possessing speed and reasonable form, and Caroline Lois (6) may have room for improvement, dropping in class and making just her third start.

Race 5

As good as Boxwood (2) looked in performing in dirt allowances in Kentucky in the fall, she might have even more potential on grass, the surface for this stakes. At least her pedigree would suggest so, being a daughter of English Channel.

Pivottina (1) is the established class, having run fourth in the Grade 1 Natalma and third in the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante, though her deep-closing style could leave her with too much to do.

The ticket

A 50-cent pick four using the horses outlined above – 2,6,7 with 1,5,6 with 5,6,7 with 1,2 – costs $27.