Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: August 6

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for Thursday, August 6. The card features eight races, and the finale is for Arabians. Please note that Delaware is off the turf today.

Race 7 — Allowance/optional claiming

• Fillies and mares three years-old and up will go 1 mile 70 yards on the main track in a second-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $25,000.
• The well-bred #3 Dancer’s Melody (5-2) needs to improve but certainly has the ability to do that. The daughter of Alternation is out of the Citidancer mare Urban Dancer and has four half-sibs who earned at least $130,000 each. This miss, a homebred for her trainer, Tim Ritchey, has won twice and been in the money two other times from six career starts. Last time out, she narrowly prevailed in a six-furlong sprint for sophs over the strip after having been away four months, and runner-up Quiet Imagination returned to win, also in an allowance versus three-year-old rivals. Dancer’s Melody’s speed figs are all in a pretty tight range, and you have to think at some point, she’ll take a step forward, which she’ll need to do to contend in here. Ritchey is 4-for-7 at the meet and 4-for-19 with horses making their second start off a similar layoff.
• The favorite in here, #4 Sweet Sami D (9-5), should appreciate the drop to allowance company after a fourth-place finish at 55-1 in the G3 Molly Pitcher, and she is G3-placed… #5 Viradia (7-2) owns a spotless 3-for-3 record around two turns…

How’d we do on Monday? Monday’s Delaware Park Horses to Watch

Race 8 — Allowance (Arabians)

• Arabian fillies and mares will go 1 mile on the main track in this allowance contest.
• We don’t pretend any special insight into Arabian racing, but it was an awfully cool outcome when five-year-old #6 Deemed a Mistress (7-2) won at first asking July 23. She’s owned and trained by Kirsten Swan — who also happens to be her rider. She won by nearly two lengths, and runner-up First Class graduated next time out. She’ll need to move forward here to top her more experienced rivals.

Who tops latest Midlantic jockey ratings?

WAGERS

• Again, Delaware is off the turf, so, just for fun…
• Race 7: $2 double, 3, 4, 5 w/ 6 (Cost: $6.00)
• Good luck!

LATEST IN HANDICAPPING