The West Virginia Derby is supported by a nice undercard, comprised strictly of stakes races. There is a 50-cent pick five on races 5-9. The first four races in the sequence look pretty straightforward, but the final race looks up for grabs to me. Here is a $34 play intended to hit the pick five multiple times.
This ticket originally started off as an $89 ticket but has been adjusted for scratches (as of noon Saturday).
Race 5
$100,000 President’s Cup, fillies-mares, 1 mile and 70 yards on turf
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trainer Aidan O’Brien will have at least one horse for each of the four major stakes races Aug. 16 on the Arlington Million card, and Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Magician will head his team, the racing office at Ballydoyle, O’Brien’s training yard in Ireland, confirmed Friday.
AUBURN, Wash. – After two easy victories to begin her career, Ethan’s Baby seems destined for a bright future. Her owners and breeders, Todd and Shawn Hansen, have fielded calls from would-be buyers, but the Hansens aren’t interested in selling. Ethan’s Baby is fast and, for the moment, there’s no one at Emerald Downs who can beat her.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Lubash and Kharafa, two of the top New York-bred turf horses on this circuit, are likely to renew their rivalry in an $85,000 allowance race going a mile Sunday at Saratoga.
Kharafa has beaten Lubash in three of their last five meetings, but Lubash is coming off a performance in a similar race July 13 that his trainer, Christophe Clement, called “phenomenal.”
Boxed in along the inside until deep stretch, Junior Alvarado got Lubash outside, and he came with a powerful run to win by 2 1/4 lengths.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The connections of La Bella Valeria, who finished second in Thursday’s third race at Saratoga, have filed a protest with the stewards on the outcome of the race, believing Uncle Southern, the winner, should have been scratched for arriving late to the paddock.
Originally scheduled for the turf, the $78,000 New York-bred optional-claiming race was moved to the dirt after heavy rains pelted the area after the first race. The change of surface led to several late scratches.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – With Wise Dan not going for a three-peat in next Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Fourstardave Handicap, favoritism in the one-mile turf race figures to be between Seek Again and Silver Max.
Seek Again gave Wise Dan all he wanted in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, finishing within a head of him. Seek Again came back to finish third as the favorite in the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont Park going 1 1/4 miles.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The two-time champion Beholder worked three furlongs in 39.60 seconds Friday at Del Mar, her first significant exercise since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Belmont Park on June 7.
Beholder emerged from that race with a pastern injury that required several weeks to heal. On Friday, trainer Richard Mandella said Beholder is unlikely to run during the current Del Mar meeting, which ends Sept. 3. She will be pointed for the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.
Mandella said he timed Beholder in 37 seconds.
DEL MAR, Calif. – Indy Point, third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf last November, has resumed training in Argentina after being sidelined by a suspensory injury last December, trainer Richard Mandella said.
Mandella said it is too early to determine whether Indy Point will return to racing – in Argentina or the United States.
“They started him back a couple of months ago, and they’ll see if the injury has mended,” Mandella said. “They probably should start him once [in South America], but I’m sure they’ve given some serious thought about it. I hope he comes back.”
DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Rafael Bejarano has won 18 riding titles in Southern California since late 2007. Earning a 19th crown at the current Del Mar meeting might prove tougher than expected.
Through Thursday, the 11th day of the 36-day meeting, Bejarano was tied for fifth in the standings with seven wins, three behind joint leaders Tyler Baze, Kent Desormeaux, and Elvis Trujillo.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The time has come for Wando Woman to win a B.C. Cup race. Beginning in 2010, when she finished second in the B.C. Cup Dogwood as a 3-year-old, Wando Woman has been favored in three of her four starts in B.C. Cup races. She has finished second three times and fourth once. Last year, she was dismissed at 8-1 in the B.C. Cup Distaff but ran a big race to finish second behind Dashing Daisy.
