McGee: Gulfstream Park pick four for Sunday, Feb. 4

Assuming HOLY HELENA, the 2017 Queen’s Plate winner, is able to handle turf nearly as well as she did synthetics, it sure looks like Jimmy Jerkens found the perfect comeback spot at Gulfstream for the Adena star: a three-other-than condition, a short field, and a suitable setup vs. questionable opposition; not expecting the 2-1 as promised on the morning line, but still, it seems like a good jumping-on spot to get into the middle pick four.

I’ll single Holy Helena (3) in race 5 to start off a caveman play that further unfolds like this:

Race 6: Stylitude (3) adds blinkers while transferring barns on the eastward migration for Loooch and comes the obvious one to beat for a $25,000 tag, but first-timer Aurora Princess (1) might have a say in the outcome at a more attractive price when being unveiled by the Kenneally stable ($2.45 ROI with first-timers).

Race 7: Covering most of our bases here when using all the inside-drawn horses in this tough MSW turf route with Kensington (2), Nevisian Sunset (3), and Kallio (4) while also tossing in a couple of live longshots in Too Charming (1) and Sweet Sting (5).

Race 8: Does Mississippi (4), scratched from his outside post in the Holy Bull on Saturday to go in this far lighter spot, absolutely have to win here? Of course not. He’s your most obvious winner in this first-level 3-year-old allowance, but if he’s pressured a long way by Navistar (3) or Cove Blue (7), then maybe Storm Runner (2) will be along late for Team Valor and Romans.

This is the straight-A play:
R5 – 3
R6 – 1, 3
R7 – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
R8 – 2, 3, 4, 7
50-cent ticket = $20