Well last week certainly was exciting, but in an odd way. For the first time, two of the six races in the Pick 6 Challenge were cancelled. It was due to weather at Gulfstream Park. What I have done as administrator, is “refund” any picks made in those races that week. If you were online, and managed to pull your picks from those races in time and apply them to others, good for you, if not, you will not be penalized. What this means for the game is that the second tie breaker (number of picks used) will be a lot more interesting this season.
With that being said, Gulfstream rescheduled the cancelled races last weekend for this weekend, making it one of my toughest weeks to pick the 6 races for the challenge this weekend. There are 3 Derby prep races scheduled today, the Gotham, the Tampa bay Derby, and the San Felipe stakes. Add in the “must have” Santa Anita Handicap, and there were only two more races left to fill the 6 race card. I was able to bring the Swal back, as I think it will be an exciting race, and I chose the Kilroe Miles from Santa Anita as the 6th race, as Cornelio wanted to see how Home Run Kitten, Za Approval, and Ring Weekend fare. So let’s get to it!
Race 1: The Swale Stakes.
Race one you may remember from last weekend, the Swale Stakes. Daredevil will most likely still remain a favorite, but X Y Jet gets a more inside post (which may help), but one of the things I think the betters liked about X Y was his off track pedigree. Regardless, he will still be a factor, and Ready to Rye has Cornelio’s interest as well. Should be an interesting race.
Race 2: The Gotham.
Race two on the day is the Gotham from frigid Aqueduct Park. El Kaiber will definitely be the one to beat here and he’s raced well at the Big A in both January and February, so the cold should be no problem. Repole / Pletcher is rolling with 3 coupled entries today, which it is hard to ignore that team, and the fact that a bet on the 1 get’s you 38% of the field covered (I expect at least one of these three to scratch). However, Classy Class may in fact be the second best horse, we’ll see.
Race 3: The Tampa Bay Derby.
Race 3 is the Tampa Bay Derby, which should be a great race. Ocean Knight and Carpe Diem, should have quite the battle. I wasn’t able to determine if Souper Colossal will run the Swale or the TB Derby, so watch for a scratch in one of those two races. Divining Rod has raced at the track and in the same company before, but I don’t think he can beat them today.
Race 4: The San Felipe Stakes.
Race 4 takes us to our last of the Derby Prep races on the day, and out to Santa Anita for our first of three there. Lord Nelson, the Baffert entry will be hard to ignore given his affinity for California races, and Ocho Ocho Ocho get’s Mike Smith and is undefeated in his three starts. Dortmund is the pick everyone loves, so don’t expect a good payout if you are wagering $$$ on him. The rest may be average, Prospect Park won his last two at SA, and Mike Smith jumped to Ocho from Bolo, so what’s that tell you?
Race 5: Frank E. Kilroe Miles.
Our final two races are also from SA and are both Grade 1’s. the Frank E. Kilroe Mile already has a scratch in Talco, but this race looks really wide open, best of luck handicappers. Lots of these horses have had up and down careers, Ring Weekend (your former TB Derby winner) is in the field, and worth a look, as is Za Approval with Mike Smith. Cornelio thinks Gary Stevens on Home Run Kitten is worth a look, but all three of these horses has tough outside posts. Winning Prize has shown an affinity for SA in the past, and Summer Front gets a hot jockey, and we will see what Clement can do at Santa Anita.
Race 6: The Santa Anita Handicap.
Lastly the Santa Anita Handicap and our biggest field on the day. Shared Belief has been working bullets all winter and may have been Cornelio’s pick for HOTR had he not faltered in the Breeders Cup. He will see a lot of money today with Mike Smith and his lifetime 9/10 record. Watch out for the spoiler Moreno, we’ve seen that horse do well and we’ve seen him do poorly. Which horse shows up today? He may be the only horse in this field that can challenge Shared Belief, but for a major upset. Looking for value? Then maybe Sr. Quisqueyano or Catch a Flight are your upset picks. Both will have jockeys on top that know the track.
Good luck all!