Best Bet – (2) DOC FANELLI – Race 1
Spot Play – (2) FINAL CHEQUE Race 9
20-Cent Early Pick 5 – Race 1: 2/1,2,5/2,7,8/2,4,5/2,6,7 = $16.20
20-Cent Late Pick 5 – Race 6: 1,2,5/2,3,4/2,3,8/2,3/1,4 = $21.60
20-Cent Early Pick 4 – Race 4: 2,4,5/2,6,7/1,2,5/2,3,4 = $16.20
20-Cent Late Pick 4 – Race 8: 2,3,8/2,3/1,4/1,3,7 = $7.20
Race 1 – (2) DOC FANELLI just took a new lifetime mark beating many of these here last week and starting from a good post again should make him hard to beat; top call. (1) YANNICK SEELSTER should ride the choice’s pocket tonight and that makes him an Exacta factor. (6) SAM MCKEE HANOVER made a decent recovery after breaking but he seemed to have issues on that turn each time he paced through it. Demand a price tonight if you like him.
Race 2 – Last time (1) HEZA HANDY MAN drew the rail he won easily and he should have a big shot vs. these; top call. (2) SHADOW TAIL was game in defeat and he is the obvious danger. He’s hard to leave off early Pick 5 tickets. (5) BIG SIR jogged vs. easier but he could get forced to take a seat here as the top two choices should both be blasting off the gate. He is capable but he could get overbet tonight.
Race 3 – (8) MISSYS MAGIC MAN takes a big class drop here and he should get a solid pace to track. Post 8 is the only concern; slight nod. (7) WRAP AND A HOOEY shoots for four straight and he won well racing off the claim last week. He has the gate speed to overcome the wide draw; using. (2) OCEANVIEW DEB rarely misses the ticket and she should be in the exotics mix again tonight starting from an inside post.
Race 4 – (5) QUEENOFHEARTS is right there every start and she may have found a field that she can beat this week; top call. (4) COME ON OVER should be more aggressive early in the mile tonight and that gives her a chance with these. (2) SCOTTISH MACH is another that fits better in this field and she is the third one that I’ll use on multi-race tickets.
Race 5 – (7) HLDONTGHTTOYURDRMS has raced better with Kelly driving the past two starts and this is a spot where he could blast to the front leaving the gate and lead throughout. (6) LADY CATERINA is also in a better spot here and her good gate speed puts her in the mix; using. (2) LMC MASS OAK has seen better days but he could reverse his form tonight facing easier racing off the claim and drawing inside. (4) CARMENS FLUKE rarely misses a cheque and he should land in the bottom rungs of that wager this week. (1) JOONER should start quickly and I can see him holding on for a small share this time.
Race 6 – (1) TEAM LEADER gets needed post relief here and Sorrie is likely going to try to dominate this race from the outset. She gets my nod. (2) ONIMPULSE is another who will likely take advantage of the inside draw to make sure she gets good position early; she is a possible upsetter in this field. (5) MOLLIE Z TAM is capable of better and getting her nose back on the gate helps; using.
Race 7 – (4) AVUNCULAR has a good chance to wake up in this spot dropping into a claimer and getting a decent post, he should offer a square price; top call. (2) VICTORIAHASASECRET is another who should like this claiming class and she is likely going to point to the front leaving the gate; using. (3) ALONA comes to play every week and she is another possibility in a small but contentious field.
Race 8 – (2) HES A LITTLETERROR lands in a great spot and he has a good chance to lead these all the way tonight. (3) SPORTS ZIPPER is interesting attracting driver Roy for this 2021 debut and this isn’t a tough spot; using. (8) SUNSEEKER has been improving his late speed recently and he is in with an upset chance vs. these.
Race 9 – (2) FINAL CHEQUE finds a good spot to make his 2021 debut considering he has six lifetime wins and his six rivals here total eight wins amongst them. Getting Roy in the bike is a bonus and he gets the nod. (3) STORMONT TIMBIT has four of those eight wins and she should contend in this first start back. (1) FORTUNE TELLERS K should use rail control to get position early but I prefer to use her underneath in this spot.
Race 10 – (1) SAUBLE ATTACK qualified well for his first start of the year and he gets the nod because he drew the best post for this race. (4) HARPERS HAT TRICK is on a big roll and he is the one that the choice will need to fend off. (2) AJKNIGHT should sit a great following trip here and he is a good one to use to round out the Tri.
Race 11 – (1) WINE TYME drops to the bottom claiming level here and she draws well for the first time in a few weeks. I expect Kelly to put her into play and with a 10 to 1 morning line quote she could add some value to late Pick 4 tickets. (3) MACH MINE BLUE is an obvious contender seeing as she won two straight at this level before trying $15K claimers last start; using. (7) SIBONEY was a winner last time Roy drove her three starts back and that makes her worth including at a price. (8) MADAM DOLCE will be passing some of these late and she could better this placing if she can find a live flow early in the race. (6) CENTURY GAGA is another worth a look for the High-5 on the class drop.
Photo by John Watkins
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Garnet Barnsdale is a veteran handicapper, bettor and racing writer who has worked as an analyst for DRF Harness for the past six years. He is a past President of the Canadian Chapter of the United States Harness Writers Association.
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