Laurel Park: Spot plays and horses to watch, December 2
Edgar Prado smiles after Always Thinking won the Sensible Lady Turf Dash. Photo by Dottie Miller.
Gary Quill is taking a brief hiatus from his GQ Approach full-card picks and analysis. In his stead, we present daily spot plays and horses to watch. Good luck!
First post today 12:30 p.m. The late Pick 5 has no carryover. The Super Hi 5 has a carryover of $1,855.30. The Jackpot Rainbow Pick 6 has a carryover of $8,636.79. Nine races are on the card. Laurel has closed down its turf course for the season.
- The day’s lid-lifter is a first allowance going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Not likely to be a particularly bettable race, but the horse to watch here is #4 Sherini (1-1) from Graham Motion’s high end barn. The four-year-old Bernardini filly is out of the insanely productive Unbridled mare Oatsee; that makes her a half-sis to no fewer than five earners of $350,000 or more, including Preakness winner Shackleford. She’s bred to be any kind, though her early career leaves open to question what kind she’ll be. She broke her maiden two back, in her fifth career try, at Saratoga while earning a Beyer of 82. Certainly a repeat of that would put her in the winner’s circle, but she’s been away more than a year here (which will make her short odds tough to stomach). Motion has a solid record bringing horses back off long breaks, and this isn’t much of a field, so she’s certainly live here, but this might be one more to watch than to wager. Feargal Lynch is up.
TODAY’S FULL-CARD SELECTIONS
- Race 1 – 4-3-1-2
- Race 2 – 1-3-8-4
- Race 3 – 4-2-6-8
- Race 4 – 3-5-1-7
- Race 5 – 4-7-1-6
- Race 6 – 9-7-8-2
- Race 7 – 3-6-7-5
- Race 8 – 6-3-8-2
- Race 9 – 1a-6-8-2
- The eighth is another first allowance, this one going six furlongs on the main track. The favorite here (and most likely winner) is #6 Tiger Eyes (2-1), who figure to be a handful while riding a five-race win streak. But we’re keeping an eye here on #8 She Rolls (5-2). The John Hartsell trainee was a terrific third last out in the Maryland Million Distaff at 60-1 odds. Two of five from that race to run back have won, including one stakes win, and winner Crabcakes ran third in a $75,000 stake. She Rolls picks up Edgar Prado, having a strong meeting, in the irons. She’s drawn outside the other speed types, and a repeat of that last could be enough in here.
