Thursday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Twenty Four Mamba capable of better for new barn

Belmont | Race 4 | Post Time 4:40 p.m. (ET)

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There’s no denying that Happy Farm (#2) is the horse to beat as he drops down in class to this $40k claimer following a series of starts at the tougher $62,500 optional-claiming level. His best race will almost certainly be good enough to beat this field, but I have some questions about his current form. He appeared to be doing well over the winter, consistently getting checks leading up to his 7-1 victory on March 30. However, he failed to make much of an impact in the slop next time, and then faded despite setting a moderate pace last month. I wonder if he’s starting to head the wrong way, and he seems like one who is going to take some money here, especially given a rider upgrade to Flavien Prat.

I have similar questions about the form of horses like Emerald Forest (#5) and Wayakin (#8). Both have plenty of back class, but they haven’t produced their best efforts in recent starts. Conversely, Catchyasoon (#1) enters this race in great form off a career-best performance when easily winning a $32k claimer last time. He seemed to improve for the Linda Rice barn, but did benefit from getting to set a slow pace on an uncontested lead. He could face more pressure this time, but I still think he merits some respect.

My top pick is another horse from that May 19 race. Twenty Four Mamba (#3) finished a distant second behind Catchyasoon, but I thought he did well to rally late after a subtle trip. He got steadied heading into the clubhouse turn when cut off by a rival who was crossing over to the outside. He did well to recover from that loss of momentum to rally for second into a soft pace. Two also-rans from that race have already come back to significantly improve their speed figures. This gelding had shown some affinity for dirt in his first attempt for Rob Atras in March. Now he’s making his first start off the claim for Charlton Baker, who does well with this move, and he has produced a couple of improved workouts since then.

At a similar price, I also want to consider Lafitte’s Fleet (#4). He’s gone a mile in two of his last three starts, and that’s just a little far for him. Even though he won three back, he’s generally been most effective over shorter trips. He didn’t run that badly against a tough field last time, showing some improvement off the claim by Rudy Rodriguez, and this seems like a more favorable spot.