The late all-stakes pick four Saturday at Churchill Downs – not the late, late pick four which encompasses the last four races on the Derby Day card and is not an all-stakes affair – is a juicy sequence. It starts in race 9 with the American Turf, continues with the Pat Day Mile and the Turf Classic, and concludes with the Kentucky Derby. Let’s take a look at this sequence, from back to front. My Saturday column focused on handicapping the Derby. You can get more detailed opinion in that piece here, but in the interests of being concise for this exercise, I feel (rightly or wrongly) the winner of this Derby after the scratch of Omaha Beach can come from only four horses – Improbable, Tacitus, Game Winner, and Roadster. I just think those four are a decided cut above everyone else that is left in this Derby field and I will use all four in equal strength. :: Shop for PPs, picks, DRF+ and more in our store! Race 11 is the Turf Classic and if dominating Pegasus World Cup Turf winner Bricks and Mortar runs his best race, he’ll be very tough to beat. But Bricks and Mortar did not run his best race last time out when life and death to prevail in the Muniz Memorial, and that glimpse of vulnerability leads me to use three other horses in this leg in the hopes of knocking off a strong favorite. The other three I’ll use here are Qurbaan, Synchrony, and Ticonderoga. Qurbaan has become a bit of a pet of mine, but he has a big race in him if he’s given a patient, trouble-free ride. Synchrony finished third in the Muniz Memorial and has seemed to be half a notch below the best here, but he does get an interesting rider switch to John Velazquez. And Ticonderoga has been a good horse waiting to happen for two years now, but with wins in his last two well-spaced starts, this could be the time for him. Race 10 is the Pat Day Mile and Instagrand is a must-use at a short price. He showed superstar potential winning his two starts last year and ran reasonably well finishing third in the Gotham and Santa Anita Derby in his first two starts this year. And at this still early stage of his career, a one-turn mile race like this could be right in his wheelhouse. However, I would not stand alone with Instagrand. I will also use Frolic More and, if he gets in from the also eligible list, Global Campaign. Frolic More should be a big price, and I really like the cutback from routes to an extended one-turn race like this for him, especially since this race has the potential to fall apart late. And Frolic More’s second three starts back to subsequent Lexington winner Owendale suggests he’s good enough for this. As for Global Campaign, he was okay winning his first two career starts earlier this year at Gulfstream. But what makes me want to include him here, if he gets in from the also eligible list, was his fifth most recently in the Fountain of Youth. That was a fine effort considering he was close to a supersonic pace that completely fell apart late. The American Turf is the first leg of this pick four and I’ll go four deep in a race I don’t feel strongly about. I’ll use A Thread of Blue, who is going for his fourth straight win and third straight stakes score; Social Paranoia, who showed dramatic improvement in a big, fast maiden win in his first start this year; Digital Age, who won his first two career starts for trainer Chad Brown this year at Tampa Bay Downs and who probably has significant forward move in him; and Seismic Wave, winner of his last two and another with a very bright future. Here’s the play: Race 9: 1, 2, 3, 5 Race 10: 10, 11, (and if he gets in) 15 Race 11: 1, 9, 10, 12 Race 12: 5, 8, 16, 17 If Global Campaign does not get into the Pat Day, this is a $64 play for the 50-cent minimum. If he does get in, it becomes a $96 play.