King: Practical Joke's price looks right in Blue Grass

Upon initially examining the past performances for Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Sakes at Keeneland, my gut feeling was that the absence of pace in the race could give Tapwrit an advantage over probable favorite McCraken, with Tapwrit seemingly being able to sit in midpack while McCraken would be rallying from the back, perhaps even from last.

Having thought about the race longer, I’ve concluded that although that may still be the case, the scenario is unlikely to offer any betting value. Tapwrit seems to be a popular alternative to McCraken among handicappers.

So, in search of a price, I’m going in a different direction with Practical Joke. Although I don’t view Practical Joke as being quite as likely to win the race as McCraken or Tapwrit, he isn’t far behind. And though Practical Joke is 7-2 on the morning line, he could drift up to 4-1 or 9-2, with many questioning his ability to stay the 1 1/8-mile trip of the Blue Grass.

Truth be told, that is a legitimate concern. Practical Joke has finished evenly in his two starts around two turns, but it’s important to view those races in context. One race came in a swiftly run Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, and he still ran his highest Beyer Speed Figure at 2 when he posted a 90 in the race, and the other race was in his seasonal debut at 3, where he was a distant second to Gunnevera in the Fountain of Youth in a start he may have needed to regain fitness.

Putting aside whether he is as effective around two turns as one, Practical Joke is the goods. He is a dual Grade 1 winner who has hit the board in all five of his starts and is training smartly for last year’s Eclipse Award-winning trainer, Chad Brown.

And speaking of Brown, I am encouraged by the confidence he is displaying by running Practical Joke in this race instead of in last week’s Florida Derby, which seemingly had a lesser cast.

Put that all together, and Practical Joke seems like a worthwhile value play in the seven-horse Blue Grass at 4-1 odds or higher.

Mo Town can rebound in Wood

Staying in the 3-year-old division and turning to the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, I like another horse who doesn’t seem to be getting any love: Mo Town. The winner of the Grade 2 Remsen over this track and distance, Mo Town (and most everyone who exited that race) disappointed in his subsequent start, running fifth in the Risen Star Stakes in his lone start at 3.

Other than shipping from Florida to a new track at Fair Grounds, it was hard to give Mo Town much of an excuse. He chased a run-off leader and faded in the stretch to lose by more than 10 lengths to eventual Louisiana Derby winner Girvin.

Trainer Tony Dutrow then regrouped with his colt in Florida and now makes the smart move of shipping him to Aqueduct, where he is proven.

My preference is for Southern invaders in spring stakes, and Mo Town, Battalion Runner, and Irish War Cry fit that bill in the Wood. And of the three, Mo Town seems likely to offer the best price – certainly more so than Battalion Runner, who likely goes favored for the dominant barn of trainer Todd Pletcher.

Awesome Slew good value at 6-1

Shifting outside the 3-year-old division, I’m intrigued by a value play in 6-1 Awesome Slew in the Grade 3 Commonwealth at Keeneland. Although he has never raced the seven furlongs of the Commonwealth, I was encouraged by how Awesome Slew performed in a long, one-turn race in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap when second to Sharp Azteca, one of the top milers in the country.

Perhaps a little dulled by having raced in slower-paced routes in his prior starts, Awesome Slew was slow to get going, but I loved his finish, with him blowing past third-place Tommy Macho, a top miler in his own right, down the lane.

Though he faces a quality field led by crack sprinter A. P. Indian, Awesome Slew may hold a fitness edge over that rival and Limousine Liberal, who are both unraced since last fall.