King's preview: Racing stays on the turf for Sunday card
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On a day when both Aqueduct and Woodbine have moved their scheduled turf races to their main tracks, Churchill’s turf races remain on despite overnight frost. Clear weather is on tap, though it is chilly.
There are three turf races among the 10 Sunday at Churchill Downs: two starter allowances, the third and the seventh, and a maiden race for older horses in race 10.
This handicapper found the third race difficult to decipher, and that race is a watch-for-overlays affair in which just about anything looks like it could happen.
In the seventh, SAYLER'S CREEK (#5, 7-5) appears a standout, having gone 5 for 8 this year. He has proven particularly tough to beat in starter races, and though out of action since Sept. 10, that layoff is due to poor luck more than anything. He was in a starter at Keeneland last month but scratched when it came off the turf.
SKY ALERT (#10, 7-2) looks like the only one with a realistic shot to beat Sayler’s Creek. The former has rattled off three straight, though he doesn’t seem quite as high quality.
Last, in race 10, TRY FLYING (#9, 4-1) is an appealing play – with his connections encouragingly shipping him down from Woodbine for the chance to run on the grass. He ran sixth first out, then third in an off-the-turf race on the Polytrack.
WILD ABOUT YOU (#5, 5-1) rates second, having twice closed well to be second in Poly sprints at Arlington after a seventh first out on the turf. Inexperience, not a dislike for grass racing, may have been the reason for him being outrun on the grass.
Spot plays
Eighth race: DONOHARM (#5, 4-1) didn't fire last out when fifth at Keeneland, but his two-back effort when beaten just a half-length in an allowance here was a quality race. A return to that form gives him a shot, and his price should be square with Viva Majorca taking heavy betting action.
Ninth race: SAA MI (#8, 3-1) is dropped from three straight stakes races, two of which were graded, back into a first-level allowance. The easier company puts him in position to win.
Early changes
Race 1
Scratch – #5 Greeley's Comet
Race 5
Scratch – #9 Sizzling Jazz
Race 6
Scratch – #1 Skywarn
Race 7
Scratches – AE #11 Midnight Notes; AE #12 Secret Citizen
Race 10
Scratches – AE #1A Hall of Fame (part of entry, #1 Wine List will run); #2 Can; AE #11 Dnieper; AE #12 Thats It Imleaving; AE #13 Mr. Homer A