Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: June 29

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for Monday’s eight-race card:

Race 1 — Maiden Special Weight

• Two-year-old maiden fillies will go five furlongs on the main track. 
• Maryland’s loss is Delaware’s gain, as fighting in the Maryland industry over whether baby races should be Lasix-free or not has spurred four trainers who more typically race at Laurel to enter here. For all that, the best-bred of these might be a horse based at Delaware, that being the Brett Brinkman-trained #2 Cilla (8-1). The daughter of dual-Classic winner California Chrome is out an Into Mischief mare who was graded stakes-placed and made over $700,000. This one is a half-sis to a multiple stakes winner and a Churchill allowance victor. Brinkman has won with 11 of his last 41 first-timers.
• #3 Superhelpful (8-1), a $55,000 auction purchase as a yearling, is a half-sister to eight winners, including a stakes winner, though trainer Phil Schoenthal wins with just 7% of his first-timers.
• Trainer Jerry Robb usually has babies ready for the early two-year-old races in April, so it’s no surprise to see him show up here with #4 Moochie (3-1), a daughter of Great Notion out of Outwithbigdaddy, a five-time winner who earned $170k. This one’s the first foal from that mare, and the three five-furlong moves she has under her belt figure to her advantage here.
• #6 Square Penny (6-1) looks to be the first runner by regional sire Peace and Justice to hit the track. She’s out of a winning Friends Lake mare and is a half to three winners. She has a mostly modest work tab, though trainer Jerry O’Dwyer wins with 12% of first-timers.
• This also looks to be the first foal to race for another regional sire, Uncle Lino; he’s the sire of #7 Hipnotizada (2-1), who’s a half-sis to three decent runners. Trainer Anthony Pecoraro has won over 20% of the time with 2-year-olds in each of the last four years.
• As a wagering matter, the safest path to take here is to press the all button. If you’re looking to cut down the ticket, it’ll be hard to ignore the two faves in here, but we think you’ll also want to keep #2 Cilla around.

WAGERS

• Race 1: $2 double, All w/ 4, 8, 9  ($42)
• Race 1: $50-cent Pick 3, All w/ 4, 8, 9 w/ 2, 7 ($21)
• Good luck!

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