Handicapper Tips & Picks

Not a strong selection but have to give the advantage to 5-COOKIN ROSES. She is far from the only speed in the field but think she could be the quickest. Barely lost her first start of the year. Might be able to make amends on the lead in this event. 3-SWEET NELLIE had been in poor form at Oaklawn but woke up in a big way in her first local start of the year. She pressed the pace early and then drew off late. Could get the same kind of trip today. 1-JOLIE RULER drops a notch after a solid third-place finish in her first start of the year. She has some speed but think she’s better when racing right off the pace and the pace should set up well for her.

It’s going to be hard to separate the three most likely to win this race but someone will finish first. Going to give the nod to 2-RAVIN’S TOWN. He had only one race, and that was at four and a half back in July but love the speed he showed in that race along with the tenacity. He fought throughout but came up a nose short. This race is longer but he has been training well and he gets first Lasix. 1-MOONLIGHT ROAD finished second in his first race of the meet and came back with a super-strong four-panel drill. He could be ready for these. 5-GAVEL, stablemate of top choice, didn’t handle the Fair Grounds turf in last but he was far more competitive in his first two races, including a narrow loss here when he debuted last year. Likely awakens with the return to dirt.

3-CAT ATTACK certainly looks like the one to beat. This swift mare will be going right to the lead and the pps of her rivals say she’s going to get there unchallenged. However, she’s been far better on turf and she managed to win only one of her six Hawthorne dirt races. They’ll have to catch her but they might be able to do it. 5-FIRESIDE KITTEN will be stalking the pace, waiting for top pick to run out of gas. Like that rival, she’s been better on turf, and even synthetic surfaces, but she has finished second in a couple dirt events. 2-COTTON CANDY ANNIE has been far better on dirt than the top pair. She finished second to the tough Journeyist in her lone previous local dirt start. She does have the capability to run well on or off the lead.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot to separate these runners. Going to try with 1-HALLIE’S RAINBOW. She finished third in her first start of the meet. Has speed, the rail, and she’s reunited with Santiago as the pilot and Victor was aboard for this mare’s previous two wins. 2-OPALINE wired the field in her first start of the meet. She’ll be racing under a tougher condition (NW3) but this field really doesn’t look any tougher than the one she just beat. 6-YOU’RE A DANDY has speed, the rail, and she finished ahead of top choice in last.

This is another wide-open race. I can make a case for most in here but ended up with 6-R KATIEBUG. Her two races this year have been awful but her first was on a synthetic track and she stumbled in last. She’s probably at her best on turf but her early dirt races last year suggest that she should be effective on either surface. 3-MISS RIVER RAT races with blinkers for the first time. 4-WILDWOOD TRIPLE runs for the first time in over a year but she has been training well. Her barn is expert at bringing runners back from layoffs. She could turn out to be the best of the speed. She finished well in her first start of the year but ran out of real estate. The extra sixteenth of this race will work in her favor. 

6-RIETTA has had three races on three different surfaces and ran well in all of them. She wired the fields twice and came from slightly off the pace to finish second in her lone loss. She’s meeting far more seasoned and successful runners today but don’t think we have seen the best of her yet. 3-RACETOTHEFINISH has eight wins to her credit and earnings in excess of $187k. She’s racing for the first time since November but she has a history of running well off layoffs. She’s training forwardly for a barn that knows how to win with fresh horses. 1-WHITE LIES likes to do her bet running late. She hasn’t raced since August but four useful recent drills should have her ready to roll. 

1-GITA’S LAD seeks his second straight victory and there’s a good chance that he’ll do it. He led every step of the way in his first start of the meet, giving him 11 wins from 29 local starts. He’s facing more rivals in this spot but none seem likely to challenge him early and that could result in another easy early lead. Delta invader 2-DOUBLE THUNDER moves up in class to make his local debut but his red-hot trainer has been spotting his horses perfectly. This multiple stakes winner in 2021 has earned over $400k in his career. He’s obviously not the same horse that ran in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Futurity but he did win two of his last three in Louisiana. 4-DANVILLE drops to his lowest level in a year and a half. His last couple races in Florida weren’t that sharp but he has an outstanding local record and he can awaken with the return home and drop in class.

9-UNIFIED WEEKEND can make amends. He chased a fairly pedestrian pace in his first start of the meet but was unable to make up any ground late. He got claimed from that race but figures to fare just as well for his new barn that wins with 22% of their first-time claims. 10-NOT VERY GENTLE ended his 2023 racing season with a victory. He ran well here all last meet and scored three times. He had only a couple slow drills coming into his first race since August but think they’ll have him ready. Flies late. 7-ONE WAY HOME obviously needed last. He pressed the early pace before fading badly down the lane. But that race should have set him up well for this one. He’s a threat to wire the field.