Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: August 5

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for Wednesday, August 5. The card features eight races.

Race 1 — Maiden special weight

Two-year-old maiden fillies will go 6 furlongs on the main track.
The strong favorite in here, #1 Tiz Ferguson (7-5), was a willing second on debut over the strip, and though no match for the winner, she did get up late over the show horse. She’s showing four solid works since her debut July 4, and trainer Cal Lynch is 9-for-36 with an ROI of $4.01 (!) for two-year-olds making their second career start in maiden special company.
#2 Cilla (3-1) rallied a bit to be third on debut. That day’s runner-up, Hipnotizada, returned to be a dominant winner next time out. This miss, who gets blinkers on, is a half to the stakes winner Jack the Umpire, and dam Sittin at the Bar was also a stakes winner.

Three-year-olds and up that have never won two races other than, or which have never won three, will go 6 furlongs on the main track with an optional claiming tag of $25,000.
The very promising #1 Skol Factor (9-5) looks to knock off his second allowance condition here in just his fifth career start. The Mac Robertson trainee owns two wins and a runner-up finish from four career starts, his lone clunker having come when going 7 1/2 furlongs on turf. His only defeat on the main track — when he was second a neck on debut — came behind Pneumatic, who later was third in the G3 Matt Winn and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Just behind Skol Factor was Liam’s Pride, who later won a stake himself. This one gets Alex Cintron in the irons and may be controlling speed here.

Fillies and mares three years-old and up will go 6 furlongs on the main track in a third-level allowance that includes a “haven’t won since March 15 condition” and an optional claiming tag of $50,000.
She may not be good enough to win here, but you can probably draw a line through the last two for #2 Bye Bye Bertie (12-1). The Ham Smith trainee won three of her first four starts before getting throttled in a renewal of the Nellie Morse that featured Arrifana, who’s now 5-for-6, and Horologist, now a Grade 3 winner at three and four. That group might just have been too tough, and the mile too far, for this Alternation filly. Last time, following a 2 1/2-month break, she tired while sprinting on the grass. Getting back to her best game, she can improve here.
Favored #5 Amy’s Challenge (3-2) likely has too many weapons for this group. The Artie Schiller mare is a multiple stakes winner of over $500,000, who nearly won the Grade 1 Madison in 2019, leading for a long way before settling for a tough luck second. She tired last out in the Madison, but finding easier company and cutting back to six furlongs may help her get back on track.

WAGERS

With the weather the way it’s been, it’s hard to count on turf, so we’ll duck the turf today, and…
Race 1, $2 double: 1, 2, 6 with 1, 7 (cost: $12)
Race 8, $2 exacta box: 2, 3, 5 (cost: $12)
Good luck!