Delaware Park 2019 horses to watch: October 2

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

Delaware Park has a nine-race card lined up for Wednesday, October 2. Some horses to watch:

Race 1 — Maiden special weight

• Maidens three years-old and up will go six furlongs on the main track.
• The Patty Burns-trained #4 Palimpsest (7-2) made absolutely no impact in three tries on the turf, and when he was switched back to the dirt, bettors dismissed him at 20-1 odds. But the son of Smart Strike outran those odds, making a nice late rally to earn second, beaten a length-and-change after encountering a bit of traffic trouble. He bested the favorite in here that day — #5 Hit It Big (9-5) — and will hope that either #1 Hide the Ransom or first-timer #2 Enduros Diamond will provide pace pressure to soften that rival up for Palimpsest’s late run. By the way, what’s a palimpsest? According to Merriam Webster, it’s writing material, such as parchment, used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased. Palimpsest the horse is by Smart Strike out of Inside Passage.
• Selections: 4-5-3-1

Race 5 — Claiming

• Fillies and mares three years-old and up that have never won two races will go 1 mile on the turf at the $12,500 claiming level.
• Speaking of horses that caught the betting public off guard, we present #8 Smoochin Candy (10-1). After toiling inauspiciously at bottom claiming levels for most of his first 23 races, this one tried the turf for the first time last out. That day, at a similar level, he was sent off by bettors at odds of 110-1. But the Tom Iannotti trainee confounded the bettors, rallying smartly despite some traffic trouble to finish third, beaten less than a length for all the money. The top pair early in that race were able to set comfortable fractions and stay on to the end, which looks likely to be more of a challenge in this spot, with some other speed signed on. Ricardo Chiappe will ride.
• Selections: 8-2-7-11

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.

LATEST IN HANDICAPPING