King: Keeneland late pick five for Sunday, April 22

The late pick five at Keeneland, already attractive due to its 15 percent takeout, is even more appealing Sunday with a couple of horses appearing to hold clear advantages in two of the wager’s races. So, I’ll take a crack, singling Abounding Joy in the fifth race and Autostrade in the seventh while going deep in other legs. Here’s a look at the sequence.

Race 5

Abounding Joy (7) chased a blowout winner at Fair Grounds first out after getting to 7-2 odds in what seemed like a nice cast. That race gives her a valuable experience edge over most in this field of mostly debuting runners. And while some of those have trained positively, there is nothing like experience.

Race 6

Killeen (7), Dubby Dubbie (5), and Bantu (8) are the preferred ones in this 1 1/8-mile turf contest, though the strategy is to add in Cullum Road (1) and Messiah (3) in what seems a competitive race.

Race 7

This allowance is loaded with talent, but the talent appears to run deepest with Autostrade (1). He won like a good thing when unveiled at Gulfstream by Todd Pletcher, drawing away by five lengths after getting hounded on the lead. He shows steady works since then, and the month-plus between starts is the way Pletcher likes to prepare one.

Race 8

This 1 1/2-mile turf marathon looks hittable by using Focus Group (11), War Daddy (6), Zumurudee (2), and Soglio (5).

Race 9

Last up is a maiden claimer in which anything looks like it could happen. Colonel's Pride (12) and Potomac (11) are the two preferred runners, but neither has to win from outside posts. Strategic Ekati (6), Garey Park (7), Cheytac (9) are other possibilities.

The tickets

Using the horses outlined above, a 50-cent pick five of 7 with 1,3,5,7,8 with 1 with 2,5,6,11 with 6,7,9,11,12 costs $50.