Well Cornelio didn’t win as much money as he hoped betting the long shots and Repole horses last week, so he’s back here handicapping for this weekends Pick 6.  There are a lot of good races going on this weekend, it was hard to pick just one.  Boston Strong is going off in an Allowance race at Belmont for god’s sake!  What a weekend.  I went with a lineup that included the President’s Cup, Sands Point Stakes, and 4 races from Kentucky Downs.  Here we go…

Race 1: President’s Cup.

1. Heart to Heart – coming off a win, can show the speed, won 3 in a row last year, hoping to bring that trend back this year
2. Divine Oath – Hoping Frankie Pennington and Graham Motion have this guy figured out, dropping to a shorter distance, hope that speed stays up
3. Inchcape – good speed figures, high percentage trainer and jockey, gone the distance 4 times.
4. Just Missed – Cage Fighter: seems to hit the board each time out, Chamois: up and down, hasn’t won in 2 years, Margano: win at the track, speed, 2-0-1 distance

Race 2: Sands Point Stakes.

1. Sentiero Italia – won last start, the Lake Placid, with Rosario, 4th and 2 wins before that, good speed
2. Osalia – decent lifetiome record on turf, second last time out, Castellano on top
3. Miss Temple City – second last time out in the Lake Placid, at distance, Johnny V, 7 3-2-1 lifetime record, workouts vs scrubs…

Race 3: Dueling Grounds Derby

1. Closing Bell – experienced jockey, seems pretty stable over last 3 races, Graded stakes experience, Bill Mott, like his chances
2. Gin Riki – on the board in the last 4, speed to compete with Closing Bell, coming off second by a nose
3. Conquest Peacemaker – similar to Closing Bell, 4 2-0-2 lifetime, stable speeds, hopefully likes return to turf

Race 4: Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint Stakes

1. Shrinking Violet – experienced jockey, huge speed in last race’s win
2. Thank You Marylou – lots of graded stakes experience, bumped last few times out, may improve over shorter distance, I have a feeling Joe Bravo takes her to the top.
3. Sky Treasure – also lots of stakes experience, Leparoux, the turf specialist, we will see what she can do.

Race 5: Kentucky Downs Turf Dash

1. Holy Lute – fast, knows the distance (4 1-3-0), won last time out
2. Channel Marker – won last race, decent recent speed numbers
3. Green Mask – drops in class after 3rd at Meydan, talented Joel Rosario, decent lifetime record, been hitting the board for the most part.
4. Just Missed – Mosler

Race 6: Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes

1. Hyper – fast fast fast, Ramsey’s know turf racing, hoping he improves on 3 3rd place finishes this year
2. Power Ped – liked him at Del Mar, unfortunately finished 4th, has the speed and turf experience
3. Da Big Hoss – don’t let him moving up in class fool you, good lifetime record, coming off a win, we will see if he is ready for prime time.

There you have it, some interesting races for this week.  Good luck to all, now we get to compete with football!