The featured race Sunday at Belmont Park is the Grade 2 Matron for 2-year-old fillies. It has pulled a solid field of six as the anchor of the early pick four.
In Race 2, for New York-bred fillies and mares going a one-turn mile, the two favorites on the track’s morning line are drawn to the inside two posts. Both #1 Conquest Superstep and #2 Perfect Freud look perfectly logical in this race, though the former holds the upside as a lightly raced 3-year-old.
The late pick four with a $300,000-guaranteed pool catches our attention, with a favorable weather forecast that promises to keep the three grass races in the sequence intact.
Race 7
Using JAX HERITAGE (1), CHASINGTHEBLUES (2), ALL OVER ME (3), ODE TO THE HUNT (8) and HARBOR KING (9) in this wide-open New York-bred allowance.
A – 8, 9
B – 1, 2, 3
ARCADIA, Calif. – Three races Saturday at Santa Anita include legitimate contenders at attractive odds – a comebacking sprint claimer in race 2, two overlays in a turf allowance that is race 6, and an allowance sprinter in race 7. Those three races are the focus of this handicapper’s wagering plan, beginning with a longshot early on the card. It could be a fun Saturday.
Race 2
Trainer Scott E. Young saddles Kips Hog Wild (#3, ML 7-2) in Friday's third race at Remington Park, the seven-furlong Oklahoma Classics Starter Allowance Stakes. Since Jan., 1, 2014, Young is winning at a 40 percent clip when saddling a horse switching from turf to dirt, for a return on investment of $4.30.
Acapella (#7, ML 5-2) returns in Friday's first race at Belmont Park, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race. It will be her first start since finishing third by 4 3/4 lengths in a maiden special weight race Sept. 2 at Saratoga. The first- and second-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.
Several classy races and competitive fields at Keeneland Saturday make the late pick four an attractive wager. So let’s dive right into the races with a look at the contenders, and compile a Ticketmaker ticket.
:: See Byron King’s pick four play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets
Race 7
Up first is a 1 1/16-mile dirt allowance for 3-year-old colts and geldings which has two or three horses with stakes potential.
Turns out Sensible Match was a sensible gimmick play as our Pick last week took the lead at the start from the rail, which we did not expect but was probably smart, and then held on grudgingly through the lane to complete a $42 exacta at 8-to-1 odds. There were 19 BreezeFigs maidens who won last week, including five who teamed up with another BreezeFigs horse in an exacta, and two who kicked off BreezeFigs trifectas: Belmont (three, with two exactas), Delaware, Gulfstream West (three), I
Trainer Nick Esler saddles Esther the Queen (#2, ML 12-1) in Thursday's second race at Belmont Park, a seven-furlong starter allowance on turf. Since Jan., 1, 2014, Esler is winning at a 38 percent clip when saddling a horse coming off a win, for a return on investment of $3.37.
Holiday Star (#8, 4-1) returns in Thursday's eighth race at Keeneland, the 1 1/2-mile Sycamore Stakes on turf. It will be his first start since finishing second by two lengths in the John's Call Stakes Aug. 26 at Saratoga. The first- and third-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.