Rampellini: Lone Star Park pick four for Sunday, June 19
Lone Star Park’s late pick four on its Sunday afternoon Father’s Day program is a challenging sequence that opens with a well-matched group in a turf allowance route and includes a jumbo field of 2-year-olds for a maiden special weight. The forecast calls for a high of 93 degrees, and there is little chance of precipitation, according to The Weather Channel. Below is a look at the sequence that runs on races 7-10 and has a 50-cent minimum.
Race 7 – BULLY GOOD (2) has had a few factors working against him in recent starts and could be poised to recapture his form from February, when he won a turf stakes at Sam Houston. Since that race, Bully Good has either caught yielding ground, had significant gate trouble, or had his race moved off the turf. Bully Good – a half-brother to Grade 3 winner Promise Me Silver ($456K) – does exit a strong race, with two rivals returning to win in their next outs with Beyer Speed Figures of 79 and 81. BLEU BRAVE (6) has recency on the top choice, and while he is cutting back from 1 1/8 miles, note that he was a winner at this trip last summer. Bleu Brave also is 2 for 4 over the course at Lone Star. SING IT UP (8) draws a wider gate but appears to have stepped up his game since the return to turf racing on a regular basis.
Race 8 – COLONIAL KENDRA (1A) forms a capable entry with PRIMAL FLIRT (1) in a maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies bred in Texas. The five-eighths race drew a field of 12. Colonial Kendra has run second in both of her starts and owns the field’s best Beyers. She also hooked a stakes-bound runner two back in Bling On the Music. SHESAHUCKLEBERRY (4) is a May foal but ran a strong third in her debut last out, finishing right behind Colonial Kendra. I’VE GOT RHYTHM (3) will start from the rail in her debutbut is by a stallion getting 23 percent juvenile debut winners. In addition, I’ve Got Rhythm’s dam was a stakes winner at 2 and has produced a pair of 2-year-old winners.
Race 9 – KITCHEN BOSS (11) must overcome the widest post in this $10,000 claimer for fillies and mares at a mile on turf, but the bit of added ground she picks up would seem to suit her, and she could be poised to fire a peak race in her third out since Fair Grounds. She further has class appeal as one who has seen steeper. VENUS DE MILO (9) is the one to beat off back-to-back wire jobs at this level. She is looking for career win No. 11. Those looking for more options might consider MARCY (5), who is back in the straight claiming ranks after facing optional-claiming rivals, and DOMINIKA (3) and MI TORMENTO (6).
Race 10 – A full field of 12 goes in the final leg, a $5,000 claiming race at a mile on the main track. KITTY BLONDE (7) was just edged last time when moving to two turns off three straight sprint wins and could get an ideal tracking trip behind a pair of runners tucked to his inside, the rail-drawn Rackumback Swifty and the sprint-to-route prospect NEX HAL COMIN (9). Others one might consider if looking to spread: DANCE ON WARRIOR (2), SOLLOZZO (4), and DREAMING BLUE (5).
The play
Race 7
A’s: 2, 6
B’s: 8
Race 8
A’s: 1, 3
B’s: 4
Race 9
A’s: 9, 11
Race 10
A’s: 5, 7
B’s: 9