Maryland racing analyst Gabby Gaudet has thoughts on a Jackpot Pick 5 on this afternoon’s card at Laurel Park!
JACKPOT PICK FIVE
Laurel Park has a 50-cent Jackpot Pick 5 beginning with race 5. The wager has a carryover of $61,660. Post time for the fifth is 2:28 p.m.
MJC analyst Gabby Gaudet will share her longshot and exotic plays with The Racing Biz each Saturday. Photo courtesy of the Maryland Jockey Club.
Gabby’s Selections
- Race 5 – 2, 5
- Race 6 – 2, 4, 5
- Race 7 – 1, 2, 5, 7
- Race 8 – 3, 4, 8
- Race 9 – 4, 6
- Wager cost: $72 ($0.50 unit)
Gabby says….
“I think it’s a good card today, and the featured Private Terms is an interesting race, which we’ll get to in a minute. In the fifth race, which starts the Pick 5, I’m taking two. I think #2 Foursouthernbelles is pretty solid at this 7-furlong distance, with a second and a third from three starts. I’m not sure how great that last effort was — the winner was rising from the $5,000 ranks — but I still think this horse rates a legitimate shot here. I’m also including #5 Easter Child and think she will run well here. I love the cutback in distance from two route races; she’ll be fit, and she’s won at the distance. Plus, she’s getting class relief as she drops out of allowance company…
“The sixth race is a second-level allowance, also at seven furlongs. I think #2 Brenda’s Way is the speed in here, but it’s hard to know how the track will play and whether that will be an advantage or not. But she has good tactical speed and has been successful at Laurel and at this distance, so she has to be respected. I think #4 Addison Run is a filly that’s moving in the right direction. She had terrible racing luck in her first two starts, but with a little better luck in her last two, she’s won two in a row. I don’t think the distance will be a problem for her, and she should be able to rate off the pace and make her run. Tim Kreiser, the trainer of #5 La Grey Zuliana has been doing well lately, and this race might set up for her the way her last two have. She should get an outside stalking trip here and then try to kick on home; I’d expect the competition will be better here than it was at Penn National, so we’ll see if she’s up to the task…
“I went four deep in the seventh, a first-level allowance going six furlongs. I think the favorite here, #1 Golden Joop, is going to be tough. But she’s coming off a layoff and may need the race; plus, though she’s speedy, I expect she’ll have some pressure. #2 Toni With an I may be a cut below these, but she loves Laurel and has run some good races at this distance; I think she’ll offer a fair price, too. I really like #5 Simmadownnow. She ran third at this level last time, and that was coming off a layoff of more than a year. I think she really needed the race and can improve here, and she gets the 10 pound weight allowance. I think that, along with Golden Joop, #7 Litigious is the other class of the race. She has speed and draws outside, which are both positives for her. The one concern is that I think she needs things to go her own way, to have a shot, and I’m not sure they will…
“The eighth is the featured Private Terms Stakes for three year-olds, and it’s a really interesting race in which every horse has questions to answer. You can’t ignore the favorite in here, #3 Baratti, who’s shipping in for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. Getting Lasix for the first time and stretching out really seemed to work for him, as he went from just an OK performance to a really nice maiden win. But I’m not sure how good his competition was that day, and it’s a lot to ask a horse to rise from maiden winner to stakes horse in one step. There also figures to be pace in this race, and he may have to work out a trip. My top pick here is #4 Classic Giacnroll. They brought this horse down here a week-and-a-half ago because they don’t think he likes training at Aqueduct, and he’s been doing really well here. He’s been keeping tough company and could get the pace he wants to make a big impact on this race. #8 Kid Cruz has made a nice improvement each race, and he’ll need to do that again today to figure in this race, but he looks capable of that kind of effort.
“The ninth is a third-level allowance, and to me this race sets up as a fun test of an old class horse in #4 Brimstone Island versus a lightly raced, improving sort in #6 Souper Knight. Brimstone Island goes short, he goes long, he leads, he stalks, he loves Laurel and this 7-furlong distance — the only question is the nine-month layoff he’s had and how he comes back from that. Souper Knight looks like a talented horse moving through his conditions, with three wins from eight starts. I thought he ran well on an off track last time, just not well enough to beat Perilous Indian. He could still be moving forward, and if he does so here, he’ll be tough…
“Good luck!”
(Featured image, of Ben’s Cat, by Laurie Asseo.)
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