Delaware Park horses to watch: October 4

by | Oct 4, 2017 | Breaking, DE Racing, Delaware, Racing

Off at Delaware Park. Photo © www.HoofprintsInc.com.

by Frank Vespe

Delaware Park has a nine-race card lined up for Wednesday, with the finale for Arabians. Scheduled post time is 1:15 p.m. Some horses to watch:

  • The fifth race is a $30,000 maiden claimer for two-year-olds going a mile 70 yards on the turf, and it’s drawn a pretty evenly-matched field of 10. The key race for the handicapper to consider here is the fifth race on September 13; four who contested that race are here, including Nekia’s Uno One (3-1), who’s the morning line favorite here after finishing second there. But of that group, we’re more intrigued by Edify (4-1), who finished third that day. This Dance With Ravens gelding was bumped soundly out of the gate and appeared uncomfortable with the going early on over a course that, though rated good in the chart, was considered soft at the time. In his second turf try, and second around two turns, he has a shot to improve here and with a cleaner trip could be tough. Jevian Toledo will ride. If you’re inclined to look elsewhere, one worth considering is Super Vision (10-1); trainer Cal Lynch has tried twice in three starts to get this horse on the grass and looks likely to succeed here; two of his siblings are turf winners. Angel Cruz is up.
  • The eighth is a starter/optional claiming race going 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track. The 3-2 morning line favorite here is Doodle Hopper (3-2), who’s been cleaning up against these sorts all year, now having six wins on the season, five since trainer John Rigattieri claimed him back in January. If there’s one (minor) concern here, it’s that he hasn’t raced since August 17 and does not show any works in the interim. If you’re looking for a horse to take a shot with, one might be Resourceful (8-1). He makes his third start off a layoff; his first was a decent effort against better, and while his second, also against better, was not good, he was buried down inside on a day where mid-track closers had the advantage. Hot bug rider Jose Bracho will ride.

ARABIAN WATCH

Arabian handicapping is provided by our friends at Arabian Finish Line.

An allowance/optional claiming race for fillies and mares has a solid, competitive field lined up. Miss Paradise, from the red hot barn of Mark Powell, has been a bit inconsistent this year, but if she runs her best race, she will be tough. Pams Masquerade and Risky Red are usually in the top three, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see either of them up there in this race. Our Princess has been running against the top mares in the country. She does take a slight drop in class here so it will be interesting to see how she does. A graded stakes winner herself, she hasn’t actually won a race since 2015.