King: Gulfstream Park pick four for Sunday, Feb. 21

Focusing around the single of Tap to It in Sunday’s featured Margate Handicap at Gulfstream, here is my wagering strategy for Sunday’s late pick four there. The horses listed below are ranked either as ‘A’ or ‘B’ runners based on their chances of winning and then plugged into DRF’s TicketMaker program for a $34 play.

Race 9
Contention runs deep in the first leg of the wager, a $6,250 claimer that drew a field of 14, plus a pair of also-eligibles. I will use four horses: SATURDAY SPECIAL (11) and RACETRACK ROMANCE (10) as ‘A’ runners and EL GRAN JOYFUL (7) and SYMPHONY FORTY ONE (3) as backup ‘B’ horses.

Saturday Special is a win machine on dirt, having compiled a 9-for-18 record on the surface, though she is only 1 for 5 at Gulfstream. Racetrack Romance is another classy sort but one seemingly best racing on turf and in the slop in off-the-grass races. Still, she commands respect on the plunge from $16,000 claiming.

Race 10
Normally, $16,000 claimers on the turf are pretty wide open, but this race seems to have a couple of horses who stand above the rest in EXCLUSIVE STRIKE (3) and FAN BASE (6). The former owns lofty Beyers and comes off a second at this class level at Gulfstream for a barn that does very well with turf claimers. And the latter is a speedster with an 11-for-33 record on grass. Use them both as ‘A’ runners.

Race 11
TAP TO IT (6) exits a pair of Grade 1 races, the Spinaway and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, and likely has a fitness edge over her chief rival, Off the Tracks, who hasn’t raced since July. Tap to It is returning from more than 3 1/2 months on the sidelines, but that’s not nearly as long a layoff as Off The Tracks, and she shows a faster and more extensive foundation in her published works. As noted above, I advise singling Tap to It.

Race 12
Maiden $35,000 claimers going just five furlongs on the turf close out the card, and it’s a puzzling race. TIZANILLUSION (1) is the most likely winner, making her second start and dropping in class after a competitive try for maiden $75,000, and is the lone ‘A.’ She also adds Lasix and blinkers.

Still, with her cutting back in distance from a route to a sprint, I feel the need to back her up with other runners. So, let’s toss four ‘B’ horses on the tickets in CHUCKY PLEASE (3), FIRST ILLUSION (8), MICHAELSLITTLEREALLY (6), and STARSHIP REINA (2).

The Tickets
Inserting the above-mentioned horses into TicketMaker, for $34 an all ‘A’ ticket can be played for $1.50; any combination of three ‘A’ horses and a ‘B’ for $1; and two ‘A’ horses and two ‘B’ runners for 50 cents.

:: See Byron King's pick four ticket using DRF TicketMaker and bet the pick four with DRF Bets.