Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: July 8

by Frank Vespe | Jul 8, 2020 | Breaking, Delaware, Handicapping

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for the 11-race Wednesday, July 8 card. The nightcap is for Arabians.

Race 4 — Allowance/optional claiming

Fillies and mares three-years-old and up will go five furlongs on the turf in a second-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $25,000.
When last seen, #1 Past Perfect (12-1) ran a great race, finishing second to the redoubtable Anna’s Bandit while well clear of the rest. The bad news is that was almost a year ago in last August’s Timonium Distaff Stakes, and she’s been away since. She looked then like a filly who was coming into her best, but whether she’ll still look that way 11 months later is a different question. Her lone turf try really wasn’t bad, as she ran on a bit late to be fifth. As a betting matter, others are probably a bit more enticing, but keep an eye out; she’s got a little bit of talent.
The talented #5 Introduced (7-2) is a stakes winner on the main track who’s stakes-placed on the weeds and enters following an allowance win three weeks back in her first start since September. The $310,000 El Padrino filly has a ways to go to justify that price, but she ran a good one last time — the runner-up came back to win — and if she moves forward at all off that, she’ll win today for trainer Jorge Duarte, Jr.
What to do with #9 Gifted Heart (15-1)? She has a compelling story behind her and began her career with two straight wins before placing in one stake and running up the track in another. Last time out she ran fourth in her first try on the grass, beaten a couple of lengths, but received a Beyer speed fig of just 63 — not competitive here. A couple of buts here: first, that fig may be just a little bit lighter than it should be (she looks, for example, much more competitive in the Equibase figs); and second, she ran a better race than her fig reveals. She dueled on the lead through fast early fractions, won that duel, but could not hold off the closers. Give her a shot to outrun long odds today.

Race 8 — Allowance/optional claiming

Three-year-olds and up will go six furlongs on the main track in a third-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $50,000.
Back at the beginning of his career, last spring, #3 Bethlehem Road (6-1) looked like a serious runner; the speedy Dee Curry trainee won the first three starts of his career, capped off by a front-running win in the $75,000 Parx Spring Derby. Three tries in graded company (including the Grade 1 Haskell) followed, and he was well-beaten in all three; he makes his first start since last September here and has been training forwardly at Curry’s Parx base.

WAGERS