McGee: Gulfstream Park analysis for Sunday, May 3, 2020

By Marty McGee

1. Etana

2. Marianna Queen

3. Crystalina

A 12-race Sunday card brings an end to another 4-day Gulf week as racing will be conducted under mostly sunny skies and amid low-80s temps. No on-site fans again, of course, as Saffie wastes little time in risking ETANA for her first tag in the 12:45 ET opener; blinkers off and Irad on as the filly returns to one turn for a mere $12,500; probably not what she was when competing for Breen ... but still. MARIANNA QUEEN goes turf-to-dirt for an outfit (Avila) making a name for itself here and over at Tampa; outer post and class drop make her a potential price play. CRYSTALINA didn't run all that well in her first post-Todd attempt but gets a built-in excuse because of distance.

1. Candy Crushem

2. Animal Trick

3. Desert General

Plenty of pace (not to mention Irad) to help CANDY CRUSHEM push past for an overdue score; gets cut in half in claiming price by McGoey to further the cause. ANIMAL TRICK is one of a handful who figures prominently from the bell; exits a couple of tougher starter spots when switching barns yet again. DESERT GENERAL, very popular at the claim box over the winter, makes a rare stretchout when favorably drawn; gray dude the wild card here.

1. Budget Buster

2. Sir Chubby

3. Joe Benjamin

Four runner-up tries for the prodigal Maker steed BUDGET BUSTER makes it seem like he's something of a hanger, and maybe so, but the latest effort signals his readiness to go over the top; T-Gaff the right guy for crunch time. SIR CHUBBY finished behind the top pick in the key April 12 race but might come favored here because it's Irad; that is what it is. JOE BENJAMIN got a field-high (for turf) 74 BSF when in for $20k in his latest and now gets the hedge when at a peak.

1. Flying Finish

2. Competitive Saint

3. Getthe Muny Bernie

Working on the assumption that more experienced maidens such as Sir Kahn or Harper aren't up to winning at this type of distance at the MSW level, first-timers ought to figure prominently here. Namely, FLYING FINISH, a $300k yearling buy who gets Irad after working smartly for the underrated Margotta, and COMPETITIVE SAINT, who also has undergone plenty of a.m. schooling up in Delray for Weaver. In fact, make it a tri sweep by tossing in GETTHE MUNY BERNIE, a 4yo whose unveiling has been a long time coming.

1. Hudson Overpass

2. Wild One Forever

3. Congrats That

Turf outings last summer and fall by HUDSON OVERPASS point him out as a welcome fresh face in these low-level N2L ranks, even with the 10-week layoff and the more recent dirt races; comes aggressively spotted by Maker when likely to find himself on or near the lead with clear sailing from his outer box. Right alongside, WILD ONE FOREVER drops in for a career-low $12.5k; the full-retail claim clearly hasn't worked out, but still something to salvage here. CONGRATS THAT outran his 22-1 odds at this same level last out; let's see that again.

1. Days of Spring

2. Toffen

3. Tournesol

For Todd and then Danny, DAYS OF SPRING showed herself a winner when properly spotted; Uncle Mo filly capable here, too, in her first start for A.Sanchez, especially with all the opposing speed signed on. TOFFEN is something of an unknown when making her first start vs. winners; gray gal also has late pace. TOURNESOL obviously encountered major trouble in her latest and is eligible to revert to one of her better efforts.

1. Guazza

2. Token

3. Estilo Talentoso

Irad sure seems to have a lot of live mounts on this card, with GUAZZA being yet another of those; Tapit filly stretches back out to a more suitable distance as part of a nice-looking lineup of MSW fillies. TOKEN can come the main threat when looking to repeat that field-high 84 BSF; Claiborne homebred sure seems to have the tools. ESTILO TALENTOSO, remarkably, has been 2nd in all 4 starts; adds blinks here in trying to move up a notch.

1. Henny's Treasure

2. Karenina

3. For Kicks

Eenie-meenie-miney nod to HENNY'S TREASURE in this typical jumble of a low-level N2L turf route, especially with Paco taking over; seems a sufficient amount of opposing speed signed on to help with her kick. KARENINA is an obvious 'under' key for your verticals, having finished 2nd/3rd an incredible 17 of 29 starts, wow; Just. Does. Not. Want. To. Win. FOR KICKS ought to be able to slug up for a minor share once again.

1. Boerne

2. Spanish Point

3. Vast

Compact but terrific top-to-bottom field of 3yo fillies in this allowance sprint with open conditions figures as an excellent test for BOERNE, who has been unbeatable since the 'No Fan' policy went into effect; outer-box trip can give her and Edgard an edge. SPANISH POINT was good enough to win an ungraded stakes at the championship meet; gray gal has real quicks. Another ungraded winner, VAST, makes her long-awaited debut for the Claiborne folks following a 6-month respite for her HOF trainer.

1. Machiavelli

2. Souper Courage

3. Bold Paynter

Seems like MACHIAVELLI has the right to improve the most out of the 10th race from 3 Sundays ago, considering he'd been away nearly 10 weeks when giving a decent effort; call him the day's best when liable to lurk under the radar in this rematch with many of the same from the same race, including SOUPER COURAGE and BOLD PAYNTER, both of whom have shown they certainly belong here.

1. Cory Gal

2. Flashing Diamond

3. Moonstone

A couple of outside-drawn Fla-breds trying open company are among the major contenders in this well-matched 1x filly-mare sprint, those being the swift CORY GAL and the come-backing FLASHING DIAMOND; either seems capable given the right kind of clean, forward trip. A fresh MOONSTONE probably will try running them all off their feet, but the two outside chasers will have their chances in the closing stages.

1. Bourbon in May

2. Robintakincharge

3. Keep Quiet

No doubt the Pletcher stable is among those trying to cull the stable before heading north in the next few weeks, and losing a decent sort such as BOURBON IN MAY via the claim box is one way to do so. Clearly some aggressive spotting here, as this colt has been competitive at a higher level; gets Irad in making him extra-tough here. ROBINTAKINCHARGE was a sharp 2nd for this same $16k tag in his latest; one of a handful of fringe players in a deep finale. KEEP QUIET is something of an unknown when shipping over from Nola and taking a sizable class drop in his first try for Hess; best try clearly makes a threat.