Litfin: How I'd play Gulfstream on Sunday, March 8
I had no intention of even considering the Rainbow 6, but through a first pass of Sunday’s card, it just so happened that the first race to pique my interest was race 7, which starts the sequence.
It is your typical $8,000 claiming sprint for non-winners during the past six months, and in these events, I’m always looking for horses that barely sneak in under the date restriction – horses like UPON REFLECTION (#2), whose last victory at Monmouth Park came a week before the Sept. 8 cutoff.
The horse has been in good form since shipped to Florida after that and already has changed hands three times since mid-November. He most recently was claimed by Angel Rodriguez out of a near miss Feb. 6, when he added blinkers and showed improved speed, leading to deep stretch against open $6,250 sprinters. His five-furlong dash on turf just 10 days later is an obvious toss.
Those inclined to play vertical exotics might consider keying Upon Reflection with BE A BULL (#4) and/or SEVENTH SON (#5), the two most logical threats.
Any Rainbow 6 pipe dreams were squashed after a look at race 8, a $35,000 maiden claimer on turf that I just can’t make heads or tails of. For those who have the wherewithal, it’s a good spot for man’s greatest invention – the wheel – but that won’t work for me in this particular situation because the four remaining legs look pretty competitive as well.
So we’ll dial back our multi-race exotic play to the pick four on races 9-12. Pending scratches, this is who we’ve got to mix ‘n’ match the right way:
9th – 3, 4, 6, 9
10th – 4, 6, 7, 8, 12
11th – 6, 8, 10
12th – 1, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11
At $1 per combination, that would be a $360 ticket, which still is out of my league, so we’ll have to take some keys in each race. Some thoughts on that:
9th – The “A” team will consist of BEANTOWN SKIPPER (#6), who has returned to form based on two better efforts in February, and LEVERAGED LOAN (#9), who is nicely situated outside a potential pace battle between OLD TIMES SAKE (#3) and MYBROTHERJOHNNYA (#5).
10th – TARNISHED (#4) and PENELEPUT (#6) are the logical keys, while ONE MORE STRIKE (#7), MINX (#8), and HOT AND SPICY (#12) are contenders with morning lines at 8-1 and higher.
11th – Using LORI’S STORE (#6), KITTEN’S DUMPLINGS (#8), and CAY DANCER (#10) at equal strength. If I had to “fine line” it, Lori’s Store, who was scratched from yesterday’s Hillsborough Stakes in favor of this spot, would be the main use.
12th – Tough call on the blind with a dozen maiden fillies on turf. Eight of them are first-time starters, and four were absolutely up the track in one dirt race. I’ll focus mainly on TENNESSEE WHISKEY (#5), BRIDE TO BE (#6), and POINTE CLASS (#7), but it would be nice to be alive to BRIDLE FASHION (#1), VOYAGE BEYOND (#9), and KITTY KAT (#11) as well.