Handicapper Tips & Picks

Interesting baby race. Decided to go with 3-BOOM BOOM BELL. She’s making her third start already and she ran into a couple monsters her first two times out. She ran well to finish second in last and was still making up ground late. Maybe her experience will help her to rule the day. Trainer Rivelli starts a pair of Carolyn Wilson homebreds. 4-TIZ CHINA seems to be working the better of the two and gets the barn’s most regular rider in the irons while the works of 5-GREAT OWL haven’t impressed but she’ll get Walter Rodriguez as the pilot and he has won with four of the five Rivelli-trained runners he has ridden this meet and 46% overall of the barn’s horses that he has ridden over the last two years. 2-CLOUDY LASS, racing for Chris Block, has been working well and steadily. You know she’ll be ready for a top-notch effort. 

2-RACARINO moves up a notch but he’s been in good form for quite a while. He finished worse than second only one time in his last seven starts, dating back to last year, and he’s already had a couple good races at this level this year. 3-BREAKING NEWS was simply overmatched in last. He lost ground throughout and didn’t beat a rival. But he had been in good form against runners like these prior to that last race. Should wake back up not that he’s back at the right level. 6-MON AMIE FUZZIE drops and turns back in distance. He hadn’t been in the best of form but he never had a lot of success in two-turn races but the overwhelming majority of his success came at this distance. 

Unfortunately, we’re off the turf today because of enormous (3+inches) amount of rain over the last couple days so we’ll have to regroup and try to figure which runners in the turf-scheduled races, won’t scratch. 4-CURL'S NITE OUT was less than impressive in her two turf races so you have to figure her savvy connections saw the long-range weather forecast and thought there was a strong possibility that this race would be moved to the main track. There are no “unbeatable” horses in racing but she seems pretty close in this spot. 7-ROYAL LAUGHTER looks like the main competition. She showed little in her three turf races and had only meager success on fast dirt tracks but she did win two of her three off-track races, which could be a factor if it keeps raining. 8-LITTLE DIXIE comes off her best race of the year. She’s entered for main-track only which would seem to suggest that she will be running. She was at her best in 2023 but last race could indicate that she’s rounding back into form. 

4-GABE'S CHOICE just graduated and he did it against Illinois breds. However, he could be the best of the speed, depending on what the runners coming off long layoffs are capable of showing, as well as the likely favorite, Takeitaway. 5-TAKEITAWAY doesn’t seem quite as quick as top choice but he’s had far more races and he is generally right in the thick of things from start to finish. 3-CINCO HARLEY was favored and ran well in his debut at Gulfstream. However, that race took place over two years ago and he had only one race since, also two years ago. Races for different connections in his local debut but he is coming back and returning at the right level while getting Lasix for the first time. 

Not in love with 7-SILKY WARRIOR but she did finish second in two of last three while meeting rivals similar to these. 6-DESSERT FIRST was favored in last but she hopped at the start of the race and never really recovered. Don’t like that she’s still eligible for a non-winners of three but her speed figures suggest that she’s faster than the rest of the field. 5-RUNNER'S HEAT drops and stretches out. She’s likely to be on or near the lead from the start. However, she doesn’t seem to possess a lot of staying power when trying to navigate two turns. Wouldn’t totally count her out but thinking she might not last on the lead.

This race lost some of its allure when it came off the turf but it should still be an exciting event. 1-NOBALS is the unknown. It’s not often that we get a Breeders’ Cup winner racing here and not even sure we will today. Nobals has never raced on dirt. But he is the class. We’ll see if he stays in. The other Rivelli-trained runner, 7-UNCASHED, will be tough in any case. He’s blessed with great early speed. He scored in nine of his 17 dirt races, including two of three on off tracks. 3-MONDOGETSBUCKETS takes on his best field yet but he is riding a three-race in streak after narrowly losing his first race for this barn.  

Trainer Larry Rivelli has a pair of fillies entered to take on the boys. At this level that might not matter.  2-MARY MOONGLOW raced competitively in all her starts and all were against far better rivals. You always have to wonder about the big drops in class but that often happens with this barn. The other Rivelli-trained runner, 7-ESCOVEDO, takes a similar drop. This filly, a $250k buy at auction while her stablemate brought $190k, is another that has raced well against better rivals and will likely be popular at the claiming box. She’s scheduled to be ridden by the legendary Lanfranco (Frankie) Dettori but he might not come if his mount is scratched from the stakes. 4-RUMBLING finished third the two times he met runners at similar levels. Can’t be ignored. The speedy 3-BOURBON STREET BOY generally tires late but the cutback to five and a half furlongs could enhance his chances.  

This race became far more competitive after the scratches.  this race is filled with speed but 9-GRAY LIGHTNING of them all. She was totally overmatched in a Grade 2 at Churchill in last but she looks like the quickest of these and the cut back to five and a half furlongs should definitely enhance her chances. 2-RICH CITY GIRL is only three and will be meeting older but she has been impressive in her brief career. Fresh off a stakes win at Prairie Meadows, this fleet filly can make it two in a row. 10-BEEHIVE should love the pace set up. She could turn out to be the best closer in this speed-filled race. Plus, she gets the home-field advantage. 8-SHARP HERO and 11-YAMILE’S are both capable of coming n late, 

This race was also scheduled for the lawn. 1-DANVILLE is the most obvious on dirt but he hasn’t been in great form for a while. He looks like he should win this but there’s no guarantee. 2-DAPPER DUDE was winless for over two years but he finally broke that streak in last. Would be too surprised if he was a repeat winner today. Like Danville, 5-MALIGATOR has been at his best on dirt and like the aforementioned rival, he hasn’t been in the best of form. But that just might change against a small and weak field.