King: How I'll play late Pick 4 at Lone Star for Sunday, May 27

Offering a $100,000 guaranteed pool and with the Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap as part of the sequence, the late Pick 4 promises to be among the most popular wagers at Lone Star on Sunday. Here's an analysis and suggested ticket for the bet, which begins on race seven.

Race 7, maiden claimer

Although this race drew a large field of 12, many can seemingly be eliminated from consideration due to suspect form. A group of three emerge to use: Tags to Riches (9), second in two consecutive races against similar; morning-line favorite Freshman Tap (4), a runner-up vs. richer maidens May 4 in the slop; and Roses N Pistols (5), who seemingly has the most upside as a lightly raced class dropper.

Race 8, claiming

A $5,000 claimer for horses that have not won four races or a race since Dec. 25, this is the kind of race in which spreading seems the way to go.

Preferred are Rocketringo (10), Cowboy U Know (5), and Passau (6), but they aren’t the only ones capable of victory. Others that warrant inclusion for deeper tickets include Sober and Stone (3), coming off a productive meet at Will Rogers Downs, and fresh-running Lord Arthur (7).

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Race 9, The Lone Star Park Handicap

Fear the Cowboy (4) is a hard-knocking veteran that travels well, and if he can win this, it would dramatically sweeten the potential for a decent Pick 4 payoff. That is because Mubtaahij (1) will be heavily favored for his Hall of Fame connections of trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Mike Smith.

Certainly the latter figures to be tough, having raced in Grade 1 races in five of his last seven starts, winning one of those, last year’s Awesome Again at Santa Anita.

Race 10, maiden claiming

Four horses seem to stand above the rest, led by Nileist (9), who rallied to be second, beaten a length, when matched in a comparable race April 21. Others to toss into the Pick 4 mix include Olga’s Son (6), whose speed figures on turf match up; Infinite O’Prado (8), who could improve in his third start for a winning barn; and Make it Work (4), a troubled runner-up May 12.

The Tickets

Using the horses above, a 50-cent Pick 4 ticket of 4, 5, 9 with 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 with 1, 4 with 4, 6, 8, 9 costs $60.