Thursday’s TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Ro Bear should work out a more favorable trip today

Aqueduct | Race 3 | Post Time 1:50 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs

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I'm most interested in a couple of runners coming out of the New York-bred N2X allowance level. I wish this race were around one turn because I would love to support We Did (#1). This horse has been in deceptively strong form lately and displayed it last time. Running against a salty field of sprinters at this level, he was taken too far back off the pace and left with a ton of ground to make up at the top of the stretch. All things considered, he put in a furious late rally to get up for fourth while running his final quarter mile in just over 23 2/5 seconds, according to Trakus. However, I can’t shake the belief that this runner is better around one turn, and the pace of this race does not figure to work in his favor.

For those reasons, I strongly prefer another horse coming out of a N2X New York-bred allowance, RO BEAR (#7).

Ro Bear has been against track biases in two straight starts. On Dec. 9, he was racing three wide for much of the way before briefly threatening in upper stretch. Then last time he encountered one of the strongest rail biases of the meet on Dec. 31, and he again did well to be fourth despite racing wide throughout. With little speed signed on, the Pace Projector is predicting he'll be closer to the pace today, and it certainly doesn't hurt to have a pace-conscious rider like Kendrick Carmouche named to ride.

I’ll key him in exotics, while primarily using him with the aforementioned We Did, as well as recent Linda Rice acquisition Ready Dancer (#5), who has plenty of back class.

THE PLAY

Win: 7

Exacta Key Box: 7 with 1,3,5,6

Trifecta: 7 with 1,5 with 1,3,5,6