Handicapper Tips & Picks

A difficult race to open the Thursday card. There's a couple with speed in here as I'm hoping 1-JOYZELLA is able to rate in the second flight early and run on in the lane. I thought she held her own against slightly better two weeks ago and she may have needed that race. With the short field and a little more fitness she could be sitting on a good effort today. 2-WILDWOOD ADIOS looks to have some speed as she appears fit off three drills coming into here. She ran well in her final start of 2024 on the poly as we will see if she looks to head for the top today. 3-NADJAMEANSBUSINESS was a good winner at Tampa in her maiden score on March 5 and was able to get an easy breeze in between starts. She's the other with speed who looks to be rounding into form.

Not much pace in this race which should help the chances of 2-WW BEST OF TIMES on the drop. She's been away since last October but has worked consistently toward her return. While her races are better on turf, she doesn't have much to beat in here. 6-DELIGHTED would have been my top pick but I'm a bit more worried about her class drop today. She was claimed for $20k last April at Keeneland but didn't start again until this March. In her second back off the layoff she takes the drop again. With the bug in the saddle, expect to see speed from her today. 4-REALTA opened her career with some solid starts in New York. As things tailed off, she has continued to drop in class and now shifts to Hawthorne for this race. The running style may suit her though as she figures to close ground in the lane.

Not a ton of pace in here as Hurts So Bad and One Putt Richie appear to be the two with some early speed. Off his last couple, 3-ROTARY DIAL looks poised to stalk and pounce in the lane. His form on the dirt has been solid as he was placed first after stretch trouble in his last. Gonzalez rides again. 2-RACARINO has had Hawthorne success, hitting the board in half of his eight starts over the track. He figures to rate mid-pack early before running on in the lane. He has three works toward his return for a barn that is off to a good start on the meet. 5-ONE PUTT RICHIE was a game winner here on opening day, as he battled every step of the way and emerged clear late. He figures to rate close early as Mojica climbs back aboard.

Feel quite confident on top in here with 1-MO SMOKING but after that this seems to be a wide open race to me. Mo Smoking ran a solid race against allowance runners here on opening day as she battled every step and held on to finish third. The barn and rider are off to a good start this meet as she should get a perfect stalking trip. 4-TWO HEARTED is the way I went in second. She comes in off the claim at Turfway in her last but runs protected in this spot. There looks to be some pace upfront for her to close into as Mojica takes the call. 5-LADY HELENA steps up off the claim as she looks to be one with some early speed. She has been solid in her Hawthorne dirt starts and has shown she can handle two turns on the grass. This could be a spot where she's a sleeper.

Clearly Purple Octopus will be the one to beat in here but with Loveberry riding at Keeneland on Thursday and the likely very short price on the horse, I'll look to beat him. 1-MINIMO gets the nod as he comes off a good effort in his last. He settled early off a rather slow pace and showed some late run to get into the mix. With more early speed in here and a 16th of a mile further to run, I expect he should be charging in the lane while at a price. 4-PURPLE OCTOPUS battled every step of the way in his last in a very game effort. He was skipping a condition that day and drops back down a notch here as the claiming tag is waived once again. Look for him to try to clear and never look back. 2-TALLAPOOSA battled in his last in the same race that Minimo comes out of. He chased much of the way before racing into some traffic coming out of the turn. He was no match for the winner though as he was able to hold on for place money.

Going to look to the Illinois-bred in this allowance test as 6-CLYDE'S GREEN GO has been training well leading to his 2025 debut. He has found the board in all four starts at five furlongs and has the tactical speed to rate close and run on late. Roman has ridden well to open the meet and gets the call in this spot. 2-SHARP STICK was running longer to close out 2024 but if you dig deeper into his past performances you find some solid sprints, including a runner-up effort at this distance. Cohen gets the call today as this one enters fit off a good string of drills. 8-SPINNIN PISTOLS merits a look as he comes in from the West coast for trainer Bill Morey. He will need some pace to chase and may find it in here as he figures to rally in the lane. His works are consistent and he figures to take a good amount of action.

Lots of pace in the Thursday finale as I'll look back to one I selected on opening day and give the nod to 5-ONE WAY HOME. I felt the 10 yo ran quite well in that spot and had some late run but the five furlongs just wasn't enough. He goes a 16th further in here and figures to rally as Mojica gets the call. 2-BREAKING NEWS will take action as he was the beaten favorite in this spot last out. He got away a step slowly which likely compromised his chances but he battled on after that. Look for him to push things early on and hang around late. 1-RISKY BOY showed speed from the outside draw last time out and now moves to the rail. I expect he is right there with Breaking News early and we will see who runs on late.