Handicapper Tips & Picks

6-SHEZ TWISTED will get a lot of play and might deserve it but she, like most in here, is making her turf debut. will race without blinkers for the first time. She has been running out of gas late but racing on turf is a whole new ballgame. Slim pick. 5-THEN NOW ‘N ALWAYS raced evenly to finish third, on dirt, in her career debut. Loves her series of drills since that race. Moves to the lawn which isn’t always a strong point for runners from her barn but those works suggest that she deserves the chance. 4-ALROSA finished fifth in both her starts but her second race was much better than her first. She’s bred to like the lawn. Might be able to challenge top choice on the front end.  

Interesting conditions on this race. None of these runners have won a race in 2025. 1-DOCTOR OSCAR looks like the quickest of these. He has won more money and won more races than any of his rivals, but he hasn’t scored in at least two years. However, he is dropping in class and just might outlast these rivals. 2-SIR STERLING, like top choice, ships in from Minnesota. He did beat that rival in a restricted stakes race last year. But he’s had 12 races this year and is another without a win. Might be vulnerable again. 4-TAHOE RUN hasn’t been in the best of form but he could turn out to be the best closer in this compact but speedy field.  

Someone in this race will be a maiden no more. Wish I knew who. 6-GOPHERS AXE has the highest dirt speed figures and she’s dropping to her lowest level ever. 5-ENTICING OPTION also drops. She showed little on turf in her last couple but raced far back on dirt prior to those turf races. The switch back to the main track can certainly help. 4-WAVE OF MEMORIES has never been close but she did finish third in her last two and seemed to want more distance in those races. The stretch in distance could help.

1-LADY HELENA was able to wire the field in her last start because she never faced much early pressure. There doesn’t appear to be any more speed in this field. It wouldn’t be too big of a surprise if she wired them again. 2-DESSERT FIRST improved in every start since getting claimed by this barn. She crushed the field in last but, like top choice, she has had only the one recent win. Could be tough.  3-PASTA SALAD RHONDA drops back to the right level. She was a non-threatening fourth in last, beating only one, but that was a far tougher field. Reawakens now that she’s back where she belongs. 

Wide open and a good betting race. I guess the safe pick would be 6-MAUI STRONG. Although he has only the one victory, he’s been facing far stiffer competition than most in here. If they send him to the lead, he could have an issue because this field is filled with other speed. But it’s his versatility and the ability to come from off the pace that makes him dangerous here. 1-AMEGADA is certainly dangerous. He has only a maiden claiming win to his credit but he’s a very good closer and the pace of this race will set up perfectly for him. The fact that he had a strong third-place finish in a mile and three-sixteenths race lets you know he can handle the distance. I was so tempted to pick 2-BUTTONS AND LACE. She's a filly meeting the boys but love that she has gotten progressively better with every passing start. She is a pure closer. But she has never raced beyond a mile. Not sure the nine-furlong distance of this race is in her range. 4-TAUNTING flew late and just missed in a mile and a sixteenth event. He’s meeting his toughest field so far but, with the way he closes, the distance of this race could give him the advantage. 7-PERRY COUNTY has had two races at the distance, one on turf and the other on dirt, and he ran very well in both of them. But there is just so much other speed in this field that he could wind up fighting for the lead from start to finish.  

6-W W HOTSHOT, like so many of his rivals, is loaded with speed. However, he’s one of those that doesn’t need to be on the lead to win the race. He’s a 16-6time winner, including a score in last year’s edition of this race, and he’s approaching $500k in earnings. Think he’ll be tough once again. Not sure 2-MIDNITE ALEX is up to facing this group but he is the lone closer in this speed-filled contest and he did win his last two races. 4-RAVIN'S RANSOM won five pf his eight races, including his last three. He will be fighting it out of the front end. 

Interesting spot for 5-SHEZALITTLESTINKER. She never ran on turf and she’ll be meeting many others with speed but think she’s still going to be the quickest member of the field. Plus, she’s going to be a price shot in a wide-open field and you almost never get a price on a runner when Catalano and Loveberry team up. 6-JOURNEYIST was a decisive winner over most of this field in her last start. She was able to track the pace and run by late. Should find a similar scenario in this race. It can yield the same results. 1-ATOMIC HABITS could be the best closer in here. She is taking on tougher in her local debut but things could set up her way.  

It could be graduation day for 1-BEAR'S D. He’s dropping out of Minnesota-bred maiden specials and he finally seems to have an idea what to do. The slight cutback in distance should enhance his chances since he’s been tiring late. Should be on or near the lead throughout. Not in love with 6-CASH APP MIKE but he’s had four turf races with similar rivals and finished in the money in three of them. 5-MORE MONEY MO is in better form than most in here. Those races have been on dirt but he’s had two previous turf races, both versus better, and he finished third in both.