Handicapper Tips & Picks

Tough race to open the day. Of those that have raced already, none jump off the page at me. I'll start with 2-AERONYX on top as she debuts for Robertson. She gets Lasix, has worked consistently and the recent half mile drill shows she could be ready to roll. 6-LA CLASICA has run well in three of her four starts on the year. Her April 29 race at Fairmount was a solid field and she gets class relief from that start. Look for some speed from her on the outside. 5-RACING THE LIGHT gets Lasix today off a turf try in her first start of the year. She has tactical speed and figures to take a good amount of action.

On turf or dirt I expect 4-VIA DEL CORSO to be very tough. He broke his maiden on opening weekend and followed that race with a couple of allowance tries. He drops in for the tag in here and should be able to rate close throughout. 1-PROFESSOR HIGGINS just missed on the turf in his last but looks to be a factor on either surface. He will need some pace to chase but should benefit from the ground saving trip. 7-REGAINED POWER is the sleeper who may be worth a look on the turn back in distance. He has speed in a race that's lacking pace as he could be on send from the start.

There's a couple with speed in here which could set things up for the closing move of 6-ACCELERATING BABE. She has made four Hawthorne starts, finishing fourth in all of those races. She was claimed at this level two back and comes in with a break in between starts. 3-STAGFLATION has been very sharp in her two victories since being claimed out of a race at Turfway. She has shown a better turn of early foot in her last couple and looks to be a good fit with Bendezu aboard. 4-LADY HELENA has speed but could have company from Lost Sunset early as well. She likes this Hawthorne strip and has run well with Gonzalez aboard.

A really good claiming field in here as all are in with the shot. The horse with the best early speed on the outside is 8-EMPIRE BUILDER for trainer Armando Hernandez. He has run well here at Hawthorne and ran very well this spring at Oaklawn. He looks sharp and fits nicely in this spot. 2-SOUL COAXING was a good winner on the Hawthorne dirt two back. He stalked the pace and pounced in the lane. I expect him to rate close once again as we will see if he can wear down the leader. 3-READTHECLIFFNOTES loves this track and is still going strong. He is an honest racehorse that still runs at a high level as a 10 year old. He could benefit from the lack of pace as he should rate close to the leader.

This is a wild allowance field as six of the eight in here are seemingly all front end preferred types. With all of the expected pace in this race, I'll look to the closing move of 6-STEAMPUNK as she ships in for trainer Chris Davis. She has been running longer in recent races but her maiden score came on the dirt at this distance. I expect she tucks in early and comes charging late. 1-MISS MIKOS potentially could rate and rally as she did in her last. She has always been solid here at Hawthorne as she comes in with a pair of recent solid drills. 7-SHE'S INTHEARMYNOW was sharp in her last as she made the top early and drew clear late. She gets her preferred distance as well as she looks to have been a solid claim.

The debut race from 1-GABE'S CHOICE was better than looks as he got pinched back at the break and ran on late. He galloped out well in that race and faces state-breds in here. Expect a good effort from the inside. 7-FRONTIER MARSHAL ran a good race last out as he was close early and contended late into the lane. He may have needed that race in his first start of the year and should improve in here. 2-SENOR RUBEN debuts for Becker as he has worked well on the Fairmount dirt. His gate drill on May 16 was sharp as there's potential for him to show some early speed.