Handicapper Tips & Picks

8-INEEDAGIRLLIKEYOU looks like the obvious choice. She’s run on turf four times and finished in the money in three of them, including her maiden win. She can display good speed but, as in last, is capable of closing with a rush. 5-CANDY KICK drops to her lowest level ever. She hasn’t shown much in her three previous turf attempts but those races were probably against stronger rivals, although those were all maiden races. Should improve off the drop. 4-BIA BOLT RUNNER isn’t exactly a sleeper but should be a square price. She finished a bit behind top choice in last but hadn’t raced in a few months. Should be fitter from that effort. 

5-BERNIE LOMAX drops. He’s coming off a terrible effort but he got off to a poor start and never recovered. He finished second here earlier in the meet. Good tactical speed could have him in perfect position to pounce late. 3-UNCLE NICK has been in good form lately. He finished second in his last two starts. Like top choice, he’ll be tracking the early pace, waiting for the speed to come back to him. 4-LIMA ZULU could be the best of the speed. He wired the field in last downstate. Might do the same in his Hawthorne return. 

7-COMMAND POINT looks tough but not necessarily a standout. She’s been in great form since shipping in. She finished in the money in all local starts, recording a win, two seconds and a third from four Hawthorne starts. It will be great to see the return of Jareth Loveberry in her irons. 4-BLOODY MARY MORNIN could give top pick a run for the money. Her last, a main-track sprint, was just a tune up. She’s been far better on turf. She’s had 18 races on the lawn and finished in the money in 15 of them, including six victories. 2-APRIL’S GEM just beat a similar group at this distance. She has a similar running style to top pair. Could turn into a great stretch duel. 

5-SHACKLEFORD STRONG has been a monster as of late. He won five of his last seven, running well on the lead or coming from far off the pace. However, with little other speed in here to challenge him, can see him making an easy lead and relatively coasting for much of the race. 7-TRY TRY AGAIN will try again. He beat top choice earlier in the meet but finished behind that rival the last two times they met. He’s fresh off a narrow loss versus tough $20k claimers and could be primed for a slight upsetting effort. 2-ICY BLAST won his last two. However, both were routes and he never even raced at this sprint distance. Would imagine that with the turn back in distance he’ll be coming late but might have to settle for a minor share. 

6-W W HOTSHOT could be a standout. $40k claim from last in allowance company meets much easier than he just beat. Should win this at a short price. 7-LIKE A SALTSHAKER is another with a high winning percentage. He’s been victorious in three of his four local races, including last two. Best can get him close. 8-ENJOY THE MUSIC is an enigma. He’s been a winning machine, five of six this year and six of 10 last year. However, he’s also a synthetic horse. He never won on turf or on dirt. All of his victories have been on synthetic tracks. How sure he’ll be able to chance that today.  

6-SHE'S WANDAFUL seems to hold the speed advantage. She wired a good allowance field last time out. She’s not the only speed in this race but she has a good chance to wire them again. 7-GET NONE is an interesting runner. She got claimed from her last two, both wins, but both claims were voided. Moves up in price for this one but she will be flying late and can get close in a heated pace race. 3-MIZZEN ASH just won at this level. She owns a pretty good late move. Could easily figure in the outcome.