Well last week we saw some upsets in the races we selected for our 6 races of the weekend.  Will that be the case again this weekend?  We will see.  This weekend we have two derby prep races going on, the Spiral Stakes and the Florida Derby.  There are a whole host of graded stakes races from Gulfstream and Turfway.  I ended up with a split of 2 Turfway and 4 Gulfstream.  Let’s see what I can figure out, shall we?

Race 1: Orchid Stakes

• Crisolles – has gone the distance and won, training middle of the pack, I like Leparoux on turf
• Maximova – has gone the distance, including a couple 1.5 milers recently, fast, working out OK
• Photo Call – I trust the Pletcher, Castellano combo, looks like a fast horse, couple wins last year at over 1 mile
• Just Missed – Quiet Kitten, knows Gulfstream, hoping for magic of 2015 to come back, looks to extend distance

Race 2: Bourbonette Oaks

• Marquee Miss – liked the speed for the 1 mile races, will benefit from a shorter race, 1 for 1 at distance, working out very well
• American Doll – 3 wins in a row, 3 2-0-1 at distance, 4 3-0-1 at Turfway, working out very well
• Dorodansa – liked the speed figs for the 1 mile races, fast, working out OK, has gone the distance 4 1-2-1

Race 3: Honey Fox Stakes

• Lady Lara – has shown impressive speed at a mile, hope she benefits from a shorter distance, coming off a second and a first, been hitting the board frequently
• Elusive Collection -been working bullets, might not have seen the best this horse has to offer, talented Johnny V on top
• Sandiva – Talented Pletcher Castellano combo, has shown she can win Graded Stakes races, 8 0-1-1 has me worried
• Just Missed – Celestine, 5 2-2-1 at Gulfstream, 3 2-0-1 at distance, wish she showed a little more speed

Race 4: The Spiral Stakes

• Airoforce – throw out last race, and this is a fast winning horse, talented jockey 5 3-1-0 lifetime, winner of graded stakes, close to running distance
• Jensen – 4 2-2-0 lifetime, getting better each race, working out well, has not races Graded Stakes yet
• Kasseopia – has gone distance, raced overseas all weather, working out well, I watch out for these Europeans
• Two Step Time – two firsts and a second over last 3, seems to be running races about this length, moves up in class though

Race 5: Pan American Stakes

• Grand Tito – two firsts in 2016, talented Castellano on top, knows Gulfstream park, 16 5-3-2 at track
• Seeking Alpha – moving up in class, but I like the workouts and the distance this horse has been running, winner of last 3
• Kaigun – loads of second place finishes, has shown the ability to compete in graded stakes races, 3 0-2-0 at distance, maybe today’s the day!
• Just Missed – Montclair, my shipper, won last race, has gone the distance (2nd), Leparoux on the Turf!

Race 6: Florida Derby

• Mohaymen – winner of the Fountain of Youth, and looked good doing it, undefeated in 5 starts, has gone the distance, hot jockey, sharp workouts, 2 for 2 at Gulfstream
• Nyquist – undefeated in 6 starts, very fast horse, a favorite for the derby, another Uncle Mo horse, you know I like them
• Majesto – coming off a win, has gone the distance twice, Castellano on top, moving up in class, experience over the track 4 1-1-0

Well, with two Derby prep races, and Nyquist up against Mohaymen, this should be an interesting weekend indeed!  Good luck to everyone, have a great weekend.  Go Syracuse!