Our Handicappers

Would think that 8-FREEDOM LASS will be awfully tough. She spent most of her career in Southern California and held her own. She was sent to Louisiana last August where she was promptly claimed by this barn and they brought her here. She had one race, against good open claimers, and finished second. She’s making her first start of the year but she has been training well for a barn that brings them ready. She’ll be meeting Illinois breds for the first time. Her main obstacle could be the short distance of this race. 4-LALY might be interesting in this spot. She never ran on turf but her pedigree is sufficient. What makes her interesting is that she seems to hold a considerable speed advantage over her rivals. If she can handle grass, she could be long gone. 6-KELLY'S GIRL is another making her turf debut. Her barn isn’t known for their turf runners but they are off to a blistering start at the meet and her rider is atop the standings. 

Not in love with 4-GO STORMIN GIRL but she improved enough in her first start after getting claimed by this barn to win her first start for them and she’s eligible to improve even more the second time around. 2-MAMBA OUT was crushed in her first start after getting claimed by this barn but she was in much too tough. She could be the best speed with the drop to the right level. Might not get caught. Not sure what has happened to 1-LOST SUNSET. She always displayed good speed and was able to maintain it through most of her races. But, in her last two, she seemed to put on the brakes after vying for the early lead. Hard to gauge.

5-SHARP ATTACK could graduate. She was claimed last June and laid off for almost exactly a year. She took on tougher in her 2025 debut, where she raced under the waiver claiming rule, but now she drops to the right level. Could be on or near the lead throughout. 4-WILD DREAMS fought top pick for the lead in that last race and held on almost as long. She faded a little more but was still a credible effort. They could be fighting for the lead from start to finish today or they could tire themselves out and set things up for a runner making a late move. 1-ILLY SIMZ could awaken. All her races were against better at Oaklawn. The drop in claiming price and the change in venues could do her a world of good.

8-SAWYER FOX appears to be the quickest of these by far. He not only dominated runners in his first start since 2023 but he’s been working bullets at Churchill ever since. It’s possible that some of his rivals in here will try to soften him up fighting for the lead but it’s also possible that he’ll just leave them all in his dust. Even though I think the distance of this race will be too short for 9-EVEN THE WIND, the pace should set up perfectly for a closer and he fits that description better than any of his rivals. 2-CANYON STREAK is another likely to be coming on late. He was overmatched in stakes company at Canterbury in his first start for this barn but he might be facing somewhat softer, though not a lot, in this spot.

6-AUTISM COMPASSION could make it three in a row. She finished second in her first race after getting claimed by this barn and then went on to win her next two starts. All three of those races were at this level. She’s unlikely to go for the lead but will never be too far back and might be able to edge by late once again. 4-IZZY'S MONSTER could easily be the best of these. She beat $25k claimers in her first start of the year and then they shipped her to Churchill to take on much better. That race took its toll. But they brought her back here for her last race and she started to come back around. It's been nearly six weeks since that last race and she had only one drill during that time but she still deserves the benefit of the doubt. 5-LEGALLY LUCKY doesn’t always show it but she is probably one of the quicker members of this field. Ignore her last, she hates the turf. But she was narrowly beaten at this level two races back after leading from the start.

While not exactly a “match” race, 7-DEAL’EM N WEEP and 9-SPINNING GLORY just seem to hold a considerable advantage over the rest of the field. Both drop from allowance company where they made no impact. I’m giving Deal’em N Weep the nod because she seems better suited to the distance. She’s making her second start off the layoff, a 35% winning angle for her trainer. Spinning Glory is the quicker of the two and it seems unlikely that she’ll face many early challengers but she doesn’t run like she’ll appreciate the longer distance of this race. 5-GETOUTOFMYKITCHEN is back to facing the ladies. This mare generally displays good speed when racing in the right spots. She’s not as quick as Spinning Glory but she could be leading the second tier and stay in the hunt throughout.

10-BUTTONS AND LACE couldn’t have broken her maiden much easier. She raced well back early but was never really asked and then she zoomed to the front under a hand ride and won going away. She’s probably meeting a bit tougher crew here but none have been able to crack the open allowance company. Guessing she’ll make it two in a row. 5-SUPRISE ME AGAIN showed little in her lone turf race but she has gone on to win three of her next seven races. It would be a mistake to ignore any runner this barn starts but especially on the lawn. Battle-tested 9-GET N TIPSY never won here but she’s had some good local races. She shipped here one time last year to take on rivals at this level and she finished third, less than a length back. She displays speed at times but she is at her best when she can finish with a full head of steam. 2-BEAU SOLEIL could be the best speed. She was only mildly competitive in her two turf races but both of those starts took place in Southern California.