McGee: Gulfstream Park pick four for Sunday, March 12

The best races are being saved for last on Sunday at Gulfstream, with three quality allowances ending the 13-race card. I’ve got some solid opinions on the last couple of races and will try to stay alive into those races by scatter-shotting the preceding two in this fashion:

Race 10 – Three horses are worth using in this bottom-rung maiden claimer: Tide of the Desert (1), who’s surely better than what he showed as a trounced favorite in his first try for Michelle Nihei; Diamond Square (2), on a bold drop for Patrick Biancone; and American Tzar (5), who gets a barn switch (Dorochenko to Joseph) of major proportions.

Race 11 – There are just too many good ones in this 3-year-old filly turf race to narrow this down, so I’ll buy plenty of coverage by using a half-dozen: 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11.

Race 12 – Homespun Hero (1) not only has been extremely consistent but has been perilously close to finally getting through this first condition. If he’s to be denied again, it most likely will be by the Phipps/McGaughey returnee, Promote (4).

Race 13 – This really is a rugged finale (and you can always pull up short, you know, when rolling your multirace bets), but I’ll take a stand with just two: Salty Breeze (2), who stands to benefit in a big way when exiting a tough Feb. 4 race and getting a good post and Javier Castellano, and the Barclay Tagg returnee Kitzys Rocket (7), who was very competitive in similarly tough 2x turf races in New York before going on the shelf.

This is the straight-A play:
R10 – 1, 2, 5
R11 – 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11
R12 – 1, 4
R13 – 2, 7

50-cent ticket = $36

Here’s the DRF Ticketmaker link: