Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: July 15

by John Piassek | Jul 15, 2020 | Breaking, Delaware, Handicapping

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for the 9-race Wednesday, July 15 card.

Race 5 — Allowance

Three-years-old and up will go five furlongs on the grass in a first-level allowance.
Among those in here with grass experience, #3 Colonel Tom (3/1) looks the most dangerous. He’s making his first start since November 17, when he was a total non-factor in a n/w2x allowance on dirt at Laurel Park. Taking advantage of the way Delaware writes this condition, he drops a bit in class. Most of his grass efforts last year in New York were duds, but he ran a big race against open claimers in Maryland in October. In the summer of 2018, he showed enough good form to go off at 4/1 against a tough field in Belmont Park’s Allied Forces Stakes. Can he recover that good form here?
There are three Louisiana shippers in here; two of them look like valid contenders. #4 A Song For Arch (5/1) is one of two in the race with a win on grass this year, having scored at Fair Grounds two races back. He’s coming off a start in the Costa Rising Stakes against Louisiana-breds, where he raced wide on a fast pace and tired in the last eighth. He looks like the fastest one in the race, and should wrestle the early lead. #5 Win Ya Win (9/2) is a perfect 2-for-2, with both wins coming in sprints on dirt at Fair Grounds over the winter. Trainer Jose Camejo is 27% with horses making their grass debuts.
A promising Maryland-bred 3-year-old makes his sophomore debut in here, and his first start on the lawn. #8 Stone Courageous (8/1). Stakes-placed twice as a 2-year-old last year, he’ll run for the first time since a runner-up finish in the Maryland Juvenile Championship on December 7. His breeding doesn’t look especially suited for grass, and Hamilton Smith hits at just 4% with horses coming off a long layoff. This looks like a race to just watch him, and see if he shows promise. If he runs well, it’s a good building block for going forward.

Race 7 — Allowance/optional claiming

Three-year-olds and up will go one mile on the main track in a second-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $50,000.
John Servis already has one promising mid-Atlantic based 3-year-old, in Dreams Untold. He might unveil a second one here, as #6 Super John (2/1) makes his sophomore debut. This $180,000 purchase wrapped up his freshman season with a dominant win in a n/w1x allowance at Laurel in December, winning by 5 1/2 lengths with a very solid speed figure. He’s been working well getting ready for the return, most recently turning in a five-furlong drill at Parx in 59 seconds. This is not an easy field to make his return in, but if he can handle this group, he’s for real.

WAGERS