Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: July 18

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for the Saturday, July 18 card. Eight races are on tap.

Race 3 — Maiden special weight

Two-year-old maiden fillies will go 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
A homebred for Z W P Stables and Non Stop Stable, #2 Malibu Beauty (4-1) is a daughter of Buffum out of the Malibu Moon mare Slow and Steady. Runners by Buffum have been precocious sorts — winning 23% of their two-year-old starts — and this miss is a half to two stakes winners and to two first-out winners.
Trainer Anthony Pecoraro has a pair in here, and you have to imagine that #7 Hipnotizada (2-1) will get bet down from that morning line. The Uncle Lino filly ran on willingly late to be second in her debut, closing some ground in the final furlong to finish more than a length ahead of the show horse. It was 11 more back to the rest of the field. Pecoraro adds Lasix today, and he sports a 15-for-31 (48%) ledger with maidens making their second start and getting Lasix for the first time.

Maidens three-years-old and up will go 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track.
The morning line favorite, who figures (rightly) to get pounded at the windows, is #2 Super Constitution (8-5), who finished a good second on debut at Oaklawn back in May and makes his second career start in here. If he returns running, he’ll be a handful.
Maryland-bred #5 Change Hands (12-1) is a son of Bourbon Courage — second-leading second-crop sire in Maryland — out of Cuvee mare Cheers Darling. That makes him a half to the stakes winner My Star Potential, who also won at first asking. And though trainer Cesar Nambo is just 1-for-14 with first-timers, that one still netted him a positive ROI.

WAGERS