Handicapper Tips & Picks

1-SHARP ATTACK has been getting better with every start this year. She dominated a non-winners of three field in last. Takes on tougher here but she’ll be hard to beat if she comes up with the same kind of effort that won last. 2-LAST SUNSET might be slightly the quickest in this race filled with speed. But she won three of her last four races. 4-ORNERY ANGEL figures prominently. This 14-time winner has been meeting tougher fields this year. With the drop to this condition, her form could improve dramatically.

5-CHIEF MORTOR showed speed but tired in both his races but he’s dropping sharply, he was gelded since her last start, and he will be racing with Lasix for the first time. 4-CREATING HAVOC also drops. He was never really involved in his lone start but was in tough in a turf race. Had two good works since. Drops into a maiden claimer. Could face far less competition. 1-LOWER BROADWAY should find plenty pace to run at. Races with blinkers on for the first time since February which could enhance his chances.

5-BLAZING AFFAIR will be tough to beat if this field stays intact. She was claimed bone of the top barns from a daylight victory but her new barn wins with over 30% of their claims. With all the speed in the race, the pace should set up perfectly. 6-ESCOVEDO and 2-ILLY SIMZ will most likely be fighting for the lead and possibly joined by Lily’s Home. If any of them clear early, she could wire the field but I expect them to tire fighting for the lead and setting things up for Blazing Affair’s late run.

4-HOT DAME drops and stretches out. She finished far back in her last three starts but she has generally been good in Hawthorne routes. Don’t think she’ll go for the lead but should never be too far back. Might be able to wear them down. 6-SHE BE SHEEHAN finished second in her last two route races. She isn’t as quick as she used to be but would expect her to be racing close to the early pace. 3-SKY RAVEN is likely to be the first from the gate and could build a commanding lead but she does tend to tire and she’s stretching out for this. Not sure how long she’ll maintain the front end.

I’m guessing the turf races today will be moved to the main track after considerable rain over the last few days and the makeup of this race would change entirely if that happened. 1-MONSIEUR CANDY looks like a standout on the lawn but doubt if he’ll race if this race does get moved. 3-SINE QUA NON has had many good turf races since moving to this barn, with two wins and two seconds from five races, but he has never raced on the main track. Don’t expect that to change.  5-STRATO has a great chance to wire the field if this race does get moved to the main track. He was claimed at Oaklawn for $12,500 two races back and shipped her to win a first-level allowance race in his first start for this barn. 4-WILDWOOD SICILIAN is as game as the get. He was entered for turf but never ran on the lawn and have to figure his connections were hoping this race would get moved to grass. He’ll be tough on or off the lead. 2-MURDOCK, stablemate of top pick, has raced exclusively on turf since breaking his maiden but he broke his maiden here, in his only main-track appearance, by 10 lengths back in 2024. 7-ELI’S PROMISE, stablemate of Sine Qua Non was entered for the main track only. He finished fifth in his last two races but he can’t be ignored in this race. 6-INDYVILLE, another main-track only runner, showed brief speed in his first start this year but this race is three-sixteenths shorter and he will have a recent race under him. 

It seemed ominous when 6-REACH’NFORRAINBOWS was dropped to half of her former claiming price in last but she responded with a second-place finish behind a daylight winner. She’s meeting what might be an easier field this time out. Can improve after getting a trip over the track. Slim pick. 5-SPIRIT TO INSPIRE is quicker than most in here and might prove to be the only real speed. She finished nine lengths behind top pick in last after taking a mid-race lead but she had generally stayed competitive throughout her races so that fade in last might have been a fluke. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she wired the field but a bit worried about the way she ran out of gas in that last start. Trainer Scott Becker hasn’t sent many to Hawthorne this meet but four of the six won their races and the other two finished in the money. Late-running 3-FASTTIMESATMIDNITE finished second here in October in her only local start. The lack of much pace in the race could be the biggest obstacle for this late-running mare.

4-ZEE is the choice on either surface. She finished third in her first start of the year, which was her first race on the weeds and her first with Lasix. However, she was very sharp last year on dirt and finished second in the Debutante. She had three good drills since that last start, including a recorded bullet work. 5-PLUME, a $525k auction purchase, lost her debut on dirt by 31 lengths but was moved to the lawn for last and wired the field to break her maiden. 7-SHEZTHEFACTOR turns back in distance. Think she’ll run on either surface and she has been competitive on both and in sprints. 3-W W GRAND FINALE has mostly raced against Illinois bred optional claimers downstate but she is generally competitive and her speed figures say she fits, at least on dirt.