Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: July 30

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for Wednesday, July 30. The card features eight races.

Race 3 — Claiming

• Three-year-olds and up at the $20,000 claiming level will go about 1 mile 70 yards on the turf.
• Five-year-old #5 Atreyu (6-1) made the first 14 starts of his career at Charles Town, and as a result, the Limehouse gelding had not tried the turf until last June. That’s too bad, but he sure seems to be making up for lost time; now trained by Crystal Pickett, he’s won five straight races on the lawn. And while the first four of those were against middling competition at Mountaineer, last time out, over the Delaware strip, he held on to win despite being dismissed by bettors at almost 10-1. His speed figs aren’t the best in the group, but with a spotless turf resume, he’ll be on the ticket at anything close to his morning line.

Race 4 — Maiden special weight

• Maiden fillies and mares three years-old and up will go 6 furlongs on the main track.
• Trainer Arnaud Delacour will send out a pair in here. #5 Barbara Gordon (8-1) ran pretty well on debut when closing for second but had no answers last time out when fifth. She’s been away since that October tilt but has a couple of solid works and gets Lasix on for a barn that’s 5-for-23 with horses getting first Lasix after a long break. And #6 Bonkers (7-2) has run a couple of pretty OK races on the lawn and will try the main track for the first time; dam Emotional Kitten was a Grade 2 winner on turf but never tried the dirt. This runner attracts meet leader Carol Cedeno in the irons.
• That looks to have been a pretty good heat that #7 She Answered (4-1) exits. It was her debut race, and she encountered plenty of trouble along the way, but she made a nice middle move before tiring. Of the six to run back, five have finished one-two in their follow-ups.
• Trainer Michael Stidham will send out #8 Pago Querido (8-1), a $235,000 auction purchase last year as a juvenile. She’s by Competitive Edge and is the second foal out of an unraced mare and has been training forwardly towards her debut for a barn that can win first time out.

WAGERS

• Race 3, 50-cent Pick 3: 6, 7, 8 w/ 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 w/ 1 (cost: $7.50)
• Good luck!

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