King: How I'd play Gulfstream on Sunday, March 15

Sunday’s card at Gulfstream doesn’t have its usual weekend flash, with no stakes on the day, but with 12 races on deck, there are plenty of betting options.

Race 2 is the first race I have marked on my Form with a horse that intrigues me. In that contest, PAMPAM (#2) is returned to dirt, dropped in class to a level at which she has been competitive, and has her blinkers removed.

Her three runs since being claimed by her current connections have been good, including a recent sixth on the grass in which she weakened to sixth but nevertheless ran the highest Beyer Speed Figure of her career, a 47.

Still, this is a maiden $12,500 claimer, and horses at this level are not the most dependable – so she needs to stick to her 3-1 price on the morning line or drift up to warrant play.

Race 4

COPA DEL RAY (#8) in race 4 also holds some interest at his 7-2 morning line, coming off a runner-up finish at this class level after setting the pace.

He has high-percentage connections in his corner but probably won’t jump out to bettors with a couple failures in the slop that preceded his last race that cloud his form. He also is 1 for 27, hardly a record that inspires.

All that noted, this is not a good field, typical of a $6,250 claiming race for non-winners-of-two types. And two of his chief rivals in the race move off their preferred surface on grass, setting them up for regression.

Race 10

TROPHEE (#2) seems a standout in race 10, having run well in both of her U.S. starts and drawn well toward the inside with a short run to the first turn in this mile turf contest.

Unraced since November, she might be at somewhat of a fitness disadvantage, but trainer Christophe Clement has good numbers with comebackers, and this one has fired off layoffs previously.

Her morning-line odds are fair at 3-1 for a horse that seems a high-percentage winner, but I get the feeling those could drop, making her potentially a better play as a single in multi-race gimmicks.

Race 12

Last up is a longshot to close out the card – the 12-1 outsider MY CELESTE (#9) in the 12th. She was a close fourth behind the next-out winner Asia in a five-furlong sprint to begin her career and faded to seventh on the stretch out to a route.

Her connections keep the faith by trying her again in another route – so perhaps her last race is forgivable for one reason or another that isn’t visible in the past performances.

If nothing else, she should have more foundation beneath her.