Pick five pool up for grabs on Tuesday

March cancellations and an April mandatory pick five payout at Fonner Park might all lead to May Flowers.

May Flowers is one of eight entrants in the seventh race Tuesday, the fourth of five races in a late pick five sequence at Fonner, which has more eyes on its product and more money in its betting pools than ever before.

The five-furlong bullring racecourse in Grand Island, Neb., is one of the few North American tracks still racing and one of only two such venues, along with Will Rogers Downs, with a Tuesday program. To capitalize on the unique situation, track management has mandated that the late pick five, normally a jackpot bet that requires a single winning ticket in order to be hit, will be paid out Tuesday regardless of the number of winning wagers.

This plan requires that no one hit the jackpot bet Monday, when the carryover already stood at more than $355,000.

Race 7 is restricted to fillies and mares, carded at six furlongs, and open to $10,000 claimers or nonwinners-of-four allowance horses. Honey Hearts is the 5-2 morning-line favorite and Extreme Caution the 7-2 second choice, but Honey Hearts will struggle to stay a distance as far as six furlongs, even with Fonner’s short 700-foot homestretch, while Extreme Caution enters on a 14-race losing streak dating to a one-mile race in July 2018 at Arapahoe Park. Star Hunter also will take action, but after three tough losses already this meet she could be set to take a step back. One horse who does merit a long look is Chub’s Charmer, an 8-year-old Nebraska-bred mare with five Fonner wins and a troubled, useful second to the speedy Love At Night in a March 20 race she needed to shake off long-layoff rust.

May Flowers, however, is an interesting case. She did benefit from getting through along the rail, but even considering a favorable trip, May Flowers ran very well to win a $7,500 claiming race over six furlongs on March 23. That marked only her second start at Fonner, and she appears to enjoy two-turn sprints around tight turns. May Flowers has spent much of her career (47 of 55 starts) racing on turf or synthetics. Because of her recent Fonner success and lack of exposure on dirt, there’s a decent chance her last performance was no fluke and a repeat of it can earn another win.

Race 6, a $5,000 starter allowance, looks fairly manageable from a bet-construction standpoint. Trainer Isai Gonzalez has won with seven of his last 17 starters coming back a week or less following a win, and Ship Stalker, who won for a $10,000 tag March 31 in his Fonner debut, fits that category. Chuckmate figures to be a price and holds some appeal switching to a dirt sprint from some synthetic-surface route races at Turfway with a couple encouraging local works for new trainer Salvador Arceo.

Ohtani is drawn outside in race 4, a six-furlong conditioned-claiming race, but long-term stats suggests a wide draw at any Fonner distance other than one mile doesn’t bring a distinct disadvantage, and Ohtani looks live on a class drop. Da Van Geaux and Where’s Rufus also should be included.

Race 5, a $2,500 claimer, is a skull-buster, and this ticket will have at least six horses (numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9).

The nightcap, race 8, also is a $2,500 claiming race, but one with more throwouts than race 5. Born Force and Gone Preachin are the top choices, with Forze Mau and Frankalee Fun also inclusions.