Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Taco Bean gets needed drop in class

Belmont | Race 2 | Post Time 1:32 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up

Pat Reynolds holds a very strong hand in this race, sending out the two likely favorites. #1 Remembermom and #4 Motion to Strike both make plenty of sense in here. The former is coming out of some tougher races and will appreciate the drop in class. He’s earned his better speed figure going longer than this, but he did break his maiden sprinting back in February. Motion to Strike has a lot more speed than his uncoupled mate, but he’s moving up in class after just missing at the $16k level last time. He probably needs to do a little better than that, and he is a horse that has performed much better on wet, sealed tracks than dry, harrowed tracks.

I want to go in a different direction with a horse who may get mildly overlooked. #6 TACO BEAN has been facing significantly tougher foes in his recent starts against N.Y.-bred allowance company. He was never going to race competitively against the likes of Key Point two back, or promising 3-year-olds Hot Rod Rumble and Who Hoo That’s Me last time. Prior to that he had run some competitive speed figures over the winter, and he was a decent second in his prior foray into the conditioned claiming ranks. This is a logical drop in class, and he’s going to be an overlay due to the low-profile connections. He also runs some of his best races when he can be forward, and there’s not that much speed signed on here.

THE PLAY

WIN: #6 Taco Bean, at 3-1 or greater