King: Pick four play at Gulfstream for Sunday, Feb. 7

The late races on Sunday’s 13-race card at Gulfstream Park remain on the turf despite overnight rain, providing a good sequence for the late pick four. (Only the fourth race was moved from turf to the main track.) So here’s my late pick four wagering strategy, rating my selections as either an ‘A’ or a ‘B’ based on their chances in each race, and then plugging the horses into DRF’s Ticketmaker program.

Race 10

The first leg, a maiden claiming sprint for horses running for a $12,500 tag, is wide open. So I will go four deep, using in order of preference, OLYMPIC SMOKE (6), BABY ANTONELLA (4), STARSHIP MAIDEN (10), and longshot LIGIA ELENA (8).

All four are ‘A’ plays – not because I love their chances, but don’t see any one horse being much better than the others.

Race 11

Take note of a key scratch: Amigo (7). His defection leaves the race much more competitive.

INFINITE WISDOM (6), SEEKING ALPHA (9), and GUSTNADO (3) are the three selections in order of preference, and I will use them all as ‘A’ horses. There is simply little separating them.

Race 12

I will play four horses in this next leg, using CHATT HILLS (4) as the lone ‘A,’ following a near-miss second against similar in which she was well clear of the rest of the pack, and backing her up with a trio of ‘B’ horses in APRIL ROSE (2), BOHEME DE LAVI (10), and COOL TEARS (9).

The latter three fillies seem a cut behind the top choice but will offer more value, and therefore price potential to the wager.

Race 13

The last is a puzzler with number of inexperienced 3-year-old fillies running on the turf, including some that are debuting and others that are racing on turf for the first time.

My preference is steer clear of the first-timers and to use four ‘A’ horses that have raced: LA CANELA (2), SWEET ELLA (14), SWEET BETTY (7), and MAJESTIC SMILE (1).

La Cancela and Sweet Betty are shifting from dirt to turf, and having upside with the surface switch, while Sweet Ella and Majestic have already run well on the grass.

The Tickets

Inserting the horses mentioned above into Ticketmaker, for $120 an all ‘A’ ticket can be played in $1 increments, with the backup ticket of three ‘A’ horses and ‘B’ for 50 cents

:: See Byron King’s pick four play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets.