Handicapper Tips & Picks

I’m going to go against the obvious in this race. 3-FRONTIER MARSHALL drops into maiden claimers for the first time. He’s been training well for his first race since October. Gets first Lasix for this trip. Might be able to surprise. 6-RED RIZZLER, the logical favorite, makes his third start of the year. He just missed in last after pressing the pace throughout. He is a 5-year-old making his 16th start as a maiden, however. He just might be vulnerable. 2-MARK MY MEMORY couldn’t keep up with the winner of last but he raced in second all the way around. That was his first race since September. Could prove even tougher this time around.

6-MISS MIKOS ran well in her four starts here last year. They tried her at Oaklawn for one start in March without any luck. But she has been training well since. They could have a hard time catching her. 3-ABSOLUTE MIRACLE is another that raced well here last year. She was given one race this year, on turf, and she ran as poorly as she did when they tried her on the turf here in 2024. She’s had at least five drills since that February race, however, and she’ll be back on the right surface today. Guessing she’ll be pressing the pace today. 2-CHIQUITA REINA ships in from Oaklawn. Unlike the top pair, she lacks early speed. However, the pace of this race could easily set up for her late run.

Love the way 6-LUNDBERG won his last race at Oaklawn. He has shown some ability from off the pace in the past but he has generally been better on the front end. Last showed that the pace didn’t matter. However, he looks like the best of the speed in this race. Might take this from flag fall to finish. 1-DANZA TAXI looks like the only one capable of pressuring top choice in the early going. All but one of his races were at Fairmount. The other race was here in the River Bear stakes last year, a race where he finished third. He has six wins from 11 career starts. Wouldn’t be too surprised if he added another score to that total. 2-CORTESE, 3-KING ANTHONY, and 5-VICTORIOUS VANDA are all likely to come running late. If the early pace is heated, any of the closers can win.

Every member of this field likes the front end. 4-DIXIE PENNY might be the only one capable of coming from out of it. She’s had two local races, both this meet, and got claimed from each of them. She finished second in both of them. Takes blinkers off. Maybe she’ll pull it all together for her newest outfit. 2-FIT AND FAMOUS could turn out to be the best of the speed. I don’t think she’s the quickest. Lost Sunset might hold that honor, but she looked sharp wiring the field in her last at Fair Grounds. She wired the fields in a couple of Iowa-bred stakes over the last couple years and she might be headed back there after this race but she is certainly capable of leading all the way in this one. 6-SHIP IT races on the pace at times and tries to come from out of it at others. She hasn’t been very effective at either lately but with the drop to the lowest level of her career she could be a top contender.

 4-A REAL HERO has been good for a long time when she races at the right level and she’s perfectly spotted in this race. She finished in the money in six of her last races when facing similar rivals, winning one time. This field did come up awfully easy. She should earn a trip back to the winner’s circle. 7-RUNNER’S HEAT finished 2024 with a victory and came back to finish third in her first race of 2025. She should be fitter in her second start of the year. Could give A Real Hero a run for the money. 3-RAINY MOUNTAIN faces her easiest field ever. She’s making her first start since July but she has had five strong recent drills in preparation for return. Wouldn’t ignore.

What makes this race especially tough is that so many of the runners love the front end. I’m going to go with 6-PHILIPSBURG. He just loves this track and he doesn’t back down from a challenge. He might not be the absolute quickest of the bunch but he is going to be right there throughout and he just might prevail. 3-LAST MINUTE obviously has some issues. He had only one race at two, and then took 10 months off before making his singe start at three. It’s now almost 10 months since his last race. He looked like a monster winning his lone start last year, crushing the field by nine lengths. He is likely the quickest and might be that good but I have reservations. 7-PROFESSOR HIGGINS is the only one in the race that wants nothing to do with the early lead. He’ll save his best move for late. Would like his chances better if this race was at six furlongs but he isn’t without a chance at five and a half.

1-DOUBLE THUNDER wasn’t an impressive winner in his first start of the meet but he did live up to his favoritism. His local form last year was even better. He’s had seven local starts, winning twice and finishing second five times. He’s likely to be racing right off the early lead once again and could once again take over late. 8-EUCLID AVENUE could outlast the rest of the speed. He just wired the field at Oaklawn, fighting for the lead every step of the way. The speed figure he generated in that race was the highest of his career. A repeat of that effort places him squarely in the hunt. 3-GLOBAL EMPIRE needed last. He’s taking on a bit easier here. He won his final two starts of 2024, beating company similar to this. Figures to be a major player once again. 2-MCMONEY could close the fastest of all. He’s moving up in class after getting claimed from last but this likely brisk pace of this race sets up for his late run. Can make it two in a row.