McGee: Gulfstream Park pick five play for Sunday, Jan. 6, 2018

I’ll try to get in and get out quickly Sunday (before getting too deep in the NFL playoffs, huh) by playing an early pick five that lines up this way:

Race 1: R Lucky Dice (4), a close second at 2-5 at this same bottom-rung N3L level four weeks ago, sure looks like the proverbial free-space gimme when facing a soft group in the noon Eastern opener.

Race 2: A polite “no thanks” to the 0-for-11 Parx Racing shipper Padrinoneverquits (4), a vulnerable morning-line favorite at this 5 1/2-furlong distance, when using Bring Joy (1), Brenda’s G L P (5), and Blue Magic (6) as live alternates.

Race 3: Safety in numbers in this wide-open N3L turf route when covering with nearly half the 11-horse lineup: Vibrant Spirit (1), Maddy’s Salsa (3), Expect a Kitten (4), Silent Sofia (7), and Winning Game (10).

Race 4: Treating that two-back 77 Beyer Speed Figure for morning-line favorite Why God (3) with deserved skepticism when diverting instead to Interlaken (2), Dunk (6), and Duke of Miami (7).

Race 5: If the Chad Brown newcomer, Doswell (2), isn’t the goods (as the fans will expect, blindly, as usual), then Love Sick Kitten (1) can save the ticket with an effort to mimic what he’s been giving in tough-luck near-misses.

Here’s the straight-A ticket:
R1: 4
R2: 1, 5, 6
R3: 1, 3, 4, 7, 10
R4: 2, 6, 7
R5: 1, 2

50-cent ticket = $45

Here’s the DRF TicketMaker™ link.