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 $22,382 — and, because it’s closing day at Laurel Park, it’s a mandatory payout. 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 – 1, 4, 7
- Race 6 – All
- Race 7 – 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9
- Race 8 – 3
- Race 9 – 6
- Wager cost: $54 ($0.50 unit)
Gabby says….
“These earlier races really are a maze. I think you can make some sense of the fifth, but the sixth and seventh really are a puzzle. The fifth is a $7,500 claimer for horses that have never won two going 5 1/2 furlongs. I have three in here, and I’m excluding two others that are logical contenders. I think #1 Senor Quickie will benefit from cutting back from 7 furlongs to 5 1/2. He’s first off the claim for trainer Wayne Potts, and in a race with a lot of speed, I’m hoping he can rate off them. I think the drop from $12,500 to $7,500 for #4 Doc Cebu is less than it looks; that’s just about the bottom of the claiming ladder in New York, and if this horse can come back to better form for trainer David Jacobson, he certainly fits here. I think #7 Vim is an interesting longer shot here. He gets Trevor McCarthy aboard; this is a horse with a ton of early speed, and the key to him is getting him to relax a little bit. If Trevor can do that, he’s drawn well on the outside.
“The sixth is a $12,500 claimer going a mile, and I think you can go any which way. All of these horses have questions to answer, and I’m going to cover them all and hope for a longshot. Notably, #5 Brew Blessings is making his fourth start in the last 30 days.
“Similarly, in the seventh, I think anyone could honestly pop up, I’ve covered six of them. I do like a couple of longshots in here. I think the 1A, Hard Rock Delite, could sit a decent trip here; last out he found himself chasing lone speed in Tatao’s Widcat and still ran well, but he might get a better shot here. Another interesting horse here is #5 Crosseyed. He ran second, beaten nine last out, back in October. But the horse that beat him, Uncle Todd, returned to run second twice in a row in allowance company at Charles Town.
“In the eighth, a maiden special weight going seven furlongs, I’m — let’s say, reluctantly — singling the three horse, Dixie Traveler. I think she’s the class of the race, she gets blinkers, and I think she’ll like stretching back out to seven furlongs. Her one try at the distance, a near-miss second against Perique two back, was really good, and Perique came back to win for fun in a first-level allowance. I don’t think she’s a lock here, but in the interest of keeping the price of the ticket down, she’s a good play.
“I’m also sort of reluctantly going to single the ninth race, a first allowance going six furlongs. I fell for #6 Proud to Be Wild in her last, and she ran third — but that was a really tough race that included a stake winner, Jonesin for Jerry. This is a much easier field than that was. Plus, I think she learned a lot that day. In her debut, she had it all pretty much her own way, but in that last race, she was in between horses, got bounced around a little bit, and took some dirt. The second-place finisher from that race, Knit One Purr Too, came back to win, and I think Proud to Be Wild is in a good position to do the same.
“Good luck!”
(Featured image, of Ben’s Cat, by Laurie Asseo.)
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