After a week off to attend the OBSAPR rodeo we are back with a short recap of our April 13thPick which looked like a BreezeFigs trifecta until the last few yards when pacesetter Wander In wandered back and closers Company Store and Glory of Florida came flying. Unfortunately, a non-BreezeFigs horse got there first but our keys and gimmick choice finished second, third and fourth for some consolation.
Race 1 – Martine Bellocq has been through a lot. She suffered burns over 60 percent of her body in the December 2017 fire that swept through San Luis Rey Downs. Brite Rivers (3) could give Bellocq her first win as a trainer since Jackson Sundown on Sept. 8, 2016 at Los Alamitos. Brite Rivers finished second last out at Golden Gate Fields; her Friday rivals include Shanghai Barbie (2), Thanks (5) and Zillinda (6).
Assuming that racing will remain on turf Saturday at Belmont Park, I’ll be taking a run at the early pick four with a straightforward (and inexpensive) ticket using a couple of singles in the final two legs. Here’s the layout:
Race 5: Brass Ring (#4)
Overcame fast pace when finishing a game second at this level last time.
Her best TimeformUS Speed Figure of 99 matches the top fig of favorite Avalina.
Appears to be a new filly with the addition of blinkers.
8-1 on ML
:: Get TimeformUS PPs for these races at Belmont
Race 8: Bavaro (#1)
NEW YORK – Not surprisingly, the national stakes schedule on the Saturday before the Kentucky Derby is a light one. The richest race of the day is the Grade 3, $250,000 San Francisco Mile at Golden Gate Fields. The highest-graded stakes of the day – in fact, the only other graded race of the day – is the Grade 2, $200,000 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita.
Bachelor Stakes
Aqueduct | Race 8 | Post Time 5:36 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up
Laurel Park has a very interesting card on Saturday featuring several stakes, including the Federico Tesio, a traditional Preakness prep. That's the 10th race on the card and the third leg of the late pick four. Here's one way to play that sequence (races 8-11):
Focused around a single of Zulu Alpha in the featured Elkhorn, here is my late Pick 5 play for Saturday at Keeneland. Listed below are the horses I prefer, their program numbers, and whether they are primary “A” runners or secondary “B” plays, utilizing DRF’s Ticketmaker.
Race 6
