Delaware Park 2019 horses to watch: July 3
by Frank Vespe
Delaware Park has an eight-race card lined up today. Some horses to watch:
Race 1 – Maiden claiming
- Three-year-olds and up will go 1 1/16 miles on the turf in this $16,000 maiden claimer.
- In two tries on the grass, #1 Not Necessarily (2-1) has run a pair of good races, finishing second both times, and has shown the ability to lead or to run into the pace. His last two tries have been messy, but both came on the main track. Trainer Gerald Bennett is winning at a 25 percent clip at the meeting and will leg up solid journeyman Daniel Centeno (those two are 6-for-16 together in the last two months). If this one can get back to the turf form he displayed previously, he can get the money in here. That’ll give him the nod over the favorite, #6 To Be Or Not to Be (3-2), who also has run well on the turf, but trainer Kevin Boniface is 0-for-21 this year and winning with just 6% of turf starters in recent years, which makes the anticipated very short odds a bit tough to take.
- Selections: 1-6-5-3
Race 7 – Allowance
- Three-year-olds and up will go 7 1/2 furlongs on the turf in a first-level allowance.
- The Hubert Gaffney-trained #1 Tom’s Music (15-1) may not be good enough to best this field, but we’ll give him a shot all the same. This one defeated $25,000 never-won-two claimers last out right here at Delaware Park and seems to be moving in the right direction. He also figures to have a chance at a winning trip here; a bunch of these want to be on the lead or just off it, and while they are wearing each other out, this Midnight Lute gelding figures to be biding his time a bit farther back before unleashing the late kick that propelled him to victory by two lengths last time. Angel Suarez will ride.
- Selections: 1-6-8-7
Arabian Watch
Thanks to Stephanie Ruff and Arabian Finish Line for giving us insights to the Arabian racing at Delaware Park.
No Arabian race today.
