Laurel Park: Spot plays and horses to watch, December 4
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 $1,672.16. The Jackpot Rainbow Pick 6 has a carryover of $715.27. Nine races are on the card, all on the dirt.
- The seventh race is a $40,000 maiden claimer for two-year-old fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track. Horse to watch #6 Miss Saffron (5-2) won’t make you rich at those odds, but she’s run well twice against similar, settling for second both times. Last out she had something of an odd trip, breaking sharply to the lead in the first jumps before being passed by most of the field and dropping all the way to seventh. She rounded the turn in the three path and made a strong rally in the lane to be a clear second, less than a length behind the winner. That was the exact opposite of her debut effort, when she led most of the way before being passed late. Having run well on the lead and then proven she can close, now it’s time for her to seal the deal. Meet leader Jevian Toledo will ride the Wayne Potts trainee in the place of injured Jenn Miller.
TODAY’S FULL-CARD SELECTIONS
- Race 1 – 4-3-5-6
- Race 2 – 7-8-5-6
- Race 3 – 7-2x-8-1a
- Race 4 – 3-1-5-6
- Race 5 – 5-3-7-4
- Race 6 – 6-2-3-1
- Race 7 – 6-4-7-3
- Race 8 – 4-6-2-3
- Race 9 – 8-7-1-5
- The eighth is a $47,000 allowance test going 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. We didn’t like #4 Wake Up in Malibu (3-1) at all last out, on Thanksgiving day, but he won that day, and we like him just fine here. Trainer David Jacobson claimed this runner two back (in June) for $62,500, then put him on the shelf until his Turkey Day return. He has some big efforts on the page and owns a win in four tries at the distance. He also projects to be lone speed in here. Sheldon Russell, who rode him to victory last out, is up.
