Live longshots square off
:quality(75))
The trainer Paolo Lobo was somewhat aghast seeing Night of Rose listed at 30-1 on the morning line when she made her North American debut April 24 at Keeneland. Night of Rose, after all, had been a Group 1 winner in Brazil, where both she and her trainer were born and raised.
The morning line didn’t have it very wrong, as it turned out, but the betting market did: Night of Rose, dismissed at 17-1, finished second by a neck to heavily favored Pretty Picture.
Night of Rose missed a work or two in early May and just now swings back into racing action, starting in the featured eighth race Wednesday evening at Churchill. She runs at the same class level and distance, 1 1/8 miles, and faces no rival as talented as Pretty Picture, but the morning line still accords her little respect: Night of Rose is co-fourth choice at 8-1.
She could win, but take a second look at an even longer price, Daisy Flyer, set at a realistic 15-1. Daisy Flyer turned in a dull comeback performance at Keeneland in April but starts fresh Thursday and has at least one race, a stakes win last summer at Saratoga over eventual Grade 1 winner Classic Q, that could produce an upset in the Thursday feature.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.