In Focus: Wagering weekend MATCH races

DELAWARE PARK Race 9 — DASHING BEAUTY STAKES

RACE PARTICULARS: DEL Race 9 (5:15pm EDT), $75,000 purse for fillies and mares three-years-old and up, 6 furlongs

1. Bertranda (15-1): Would need a lot – a lot – of things to go right to win this race
2. Cairenn (8-1): Back-to-back good tries, third last out as the longest shot on the board in the G3 Bed o’ Roses and second two back to the quickly improving Chalon; second off a roughly 45-day break and has run well in similar circumstances before
3. Tequilita (6-1): Multiple graded winner had no answers in the two-turn, 9-furlong Obeah but rates consdieration on the cutback; owns a stake win at the trip and will look to rally into the pace here
4. Bonita Bianca (9-2): Trainer Jason Servis is winning 32 percent on the year, and he and rider Paco Lopez are a stupid-good 42 percent since the beginning of ’17; has two wins at the trip and the runner-up from last won next out
5. Absatootly (8-1): Runner’s in-and-out form has to give you pause but she can be a player here on best; has a couple wins at the trip, and while a lot of her work has been in state-bred company, but she did win the Primonetta against open types in April ’17 and was third three back in open stake at AQU; it’s rider Luzzi’s only mount of the day
6. Day by Day (15-1): Was well beaten last out, including by two of today’s rivals, so will need a better effort; rider Pedroza likely will want to get her involved early as she does best running on or near the pace
7. Angel At War (5-1): Has lost to #8 in here two straight but sure did run well last out in first in almost two months, turning aside one bid before a good-trip rival came and picked it up late; speedy sort should be engaged from the get-go
8. Lake Ponchatrain (7-2): No idea what the turf try was all about, but toss that and this OK-bred mare is right at the top of her game right now, with three straight wins on the main track; figures a mid-pack type of trip here
9. Jessica Krupnick (6-1): Uncle Mo mare for trainer Tres Abbott has run really well in 2018, and no shame in four-length defeat in last to the very good Chalon; probably won’t be quick enough in here to make the early lead but showed last out she can run well from third or fourth too; rider McCarthy three for eight with horses trained by Abbott
10. Liz’s Cable Girl (12-1): NJ-bred also outran her odds in same race as #9 last out to be third; the 4yo recorded a career-best Beyer of 82 that day – so does she bounce, or, in just her second start of ’18, fire again?

Penn Ladies Dash winner Morticia has bypassed the Turf Amazon. Photo by Jim McCue, Maryland Jockey Club.

PARX RACING Race 6 — TURF AMAZON S.

RACE PARTICULARS: PRX Race 6 (3:10 pm EDT), $100,000 guaranteed purse for three-year-oldS and up, 5 furlongs (turf)

THE FIELD

1. Goldwood (3-1): Goldberg trainee who’s part of entry moving expeditiously through her conditions; lone stake try was 6th-place finish but beaten less than three by #3 in here and the very good Moriticia
1a. Boos (3-1): Closing sort figures to need some help from the pace to get there; has kept busy enough, as this’ll be her third start since the beginning of June
2. Isabella Swift (30-1): Unless this one comes off the turf – and honestly, even then – this eight-year-old figures to be up against it here
3. Blue Bahia (8-5): Has been away four months, and that has to be a cause for some concern, but outside of that, and one poor start when suffering a bad trip, and she hasn’t done much wrong – including three stakes wins; has fired fresh before and trainer Servis wins often off similar breaks
4. Bertranda (20-1): Winless in six tries on the turf
5. She’s Stunning (20-1): Another who figures to be doing a rain dance
6. Quick Thinking (15-1): Cleared and cruised last out in N1X test; stern test here but this Great Notion filly has been moving in the right direction, still owns right to improve
7. Pretty Perfection (10-1): Has finished behind a couple of these runners recently and will need a top effort here
8. Smiling Causeway (2-1): Five-furlong distance plays to speedster’s best game, and she showed new dimension two back when closing to win; second start of ’18 here; wore front wraps last out on dirt; on best figures a handful, like to see Centeno remain aboard, and outside draw only helps the cause

Oak Bluffs. Photo by The Racing Biz.

PARX RACING Race 8 — GRADE 3 PARX DASH

RACE PARTICULARS: PRX Race 8 (4:04 pm EDT), Grade 3, $200,000 guaranteed purse for 3yo and up, 5 furlongs (turf)

THE FIELD

1. Forman the Foreman (20-1): Speedster figures to be on the engine early, probably not holding ’em off late; ran against a couple of these last out, splitting them
2. Dubini (8-1): Good bounceback effort last to be second in PA Gov Cup; deep closing style makes it tough on him, but owns right to improve in second of ’18
3. Louisiana Brown (30-1): Turf tries to date are fine, but “fine” doesn’t figure to be good enough in here
4. Pure Sensation (3-2): Led a long, long way last out after bypassing PA Gov Cup for G3 Jaipur before settling for second in a race that went a preposterous 1:06 3/5 for six furlongs; runner has twice been beaten less than two in the BC Turf Sprint, has six wins ath the distance and is a major player here
5. Ready for Rye (12-1): Very best figs have come on dirt but has run some good races on the green; best turf tries compete here
6. Oak Bluffs (6-1): Paco Lopez gave this 8yo — another masterful Mary Eppler training job — a good-as-it-could be trip to win last out; hasn’t been worse than second in last five tries on firm turf
7. Tribalist (15-1): Long ship for a low-percentage trainer for this guy to make his first start since January; stake winner sprinting on turf, and note he’s 3-for-3 at 5f
8. Vision Perfect (5-1): Versatile Jason Servis trainee backed out in last but two back won minor stake at GP; lone local try was first in Servis barn and didn’t go so well; can make amends here, but note recent pilot Lopez chooses #6 here
9. Nice Tune (30-1): Has taken 29 tries to get three wins and figures to find tough sledding here
10. Pool Winner (15-1): Good try in last to be third after leading a long way; has shown ability to lead or stalk; makes second start off three-month break; bad news is that two that bested him in last both are here
11. Bold Thunder (10-1): 2017 PA Gov Cup winner has lost four straight since that score with nothing better than a single third-place finish; winless in seven tries at PRX
12. Uncle Leo (20-1): Has failed five times at N2X level, which makes him a tough sell in this company; will look to bide his time and then mount a rally