Sunday’s TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Stretch-out gives longshot Quai Voltaire a chance in wide-open race

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 3:20 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs

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I suppose J J’s Dreaming (#11) deserves to be favored off his relatively fast maiden score, his only start on dirt. However, now he’s drawn in the outside post position as part of a much larger field, and he must deal with other speed. I think he’s a contender, but he’s unlikely to offer value this time.

This is a relatively weak race for this level, so I think it’s wise to consider horses that you would often dismiss in N1X allowance races. One of those is Prophet’s Cat (#8). The main knock against this 7-year-old gelding is that he so rarely wins. However, he’s run speed figures that make him competitive here, and his last effort against a much tougher group suggests that he’s in decent form. I’ll use him, but I can’t pick him on top.

Instead, my top selection is QUAI VOLTAIRE (#4). At first glance, this horse looks too cheap to compete against this group. After all, he needed to get dropped in for a $40,000 tag to break his maiden in his 17th start. On the other hand, he’s actually run two of his best career races in his only two starts at a mile. After all, Givetheman A Cigar, whom he defeated in that Nov. 22 race, is the same horse that J J’s Dreaming defeated last time by a similar margin.

THE PLAY

Win: 4

Exacta Box: 4,8,11

Exacta Key Box: 4 with 1,2,3,7