Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: August 22

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for Saturday, August 22. The card features eight races, and the finale is for Arabians.

Race 2 — Allowance

Three-year-olds and up will go about one mile on the turf (we hope!) in a first-level allowance.
Last time out, #2 Sail At Sunrise (6-1) earned his diploma in special weight company at Parx and proved much the best. Once clear in the lane, he surged to the lead and was wrapped up late; that heat has produced two next-out winners from six to run back, and this one may be able to work out a similar covered-up trip again today… #5 Smile Bryan (3-1) just ran sixth in a Saratoga allowance last out, but don’t judge that too harshly: winner Colonel Liam came back to be beaten less than a length in the $500k Saratoga Derby… Favored #9 Blameless (2-1) certainly cuts the right profile as a well-bred, lightly raced sort, and his dam was a minor stakes winner on the lawn. The downside: this one has been away since February; trainer Matz is 9-for-51 off similar breaks…

Maidens three and up will go about 1 1/16 miles on the turf at the $25,000 claiming level.
That was a terrific debut for #1 Oatie (8-1). The I Want Revenge gelding rallied to reach even terms with the leader in the stretch before tiring in the final furlong to third; no surprise that he tired going two turns in his first time out. Trainer Sheppard is 7-for-16 with maidens making their second starts after finishing in the money on debut, adds Lasix here… One of the two who finished ahead of him, #11 Muhlenberg (6-1), is here, has finished second in three straight… Favored #5 Striking It Lucky (3-1) has been right there against similar a couple of times, finished a half-length ahead of #8 Templemore (12-1), who figures to get bet down and enters in good form… The most curious cat in here is #7 Curlington (5-1); the Camejo trainee has some pretty credible tries against special weight company but now shows up for $25k; if he runs back to earlier form, he’s a major player in this group, but it seems notable that the trainer drops him in for a tag off the long layoff…

Three-year-olds and up will go six furlongs on the main track in a second-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $25,000.
The key horse in here is the favorite, #6 Blue Buff (3-2). This John Servis trainee is razor-sharp and enters this contest with five consecutive wins, including a first allowance at Gulfstream; in the last three of those, he was even-money or less. If he fires like that again, he’ll be awfully tough in here. In his last two races, though, the Unbridled’s Song gelding has been lugging in in the stretch to the extent that, particularly two back, his rider needed to focus on keeping him off the horse to his inside rather than riding to the wire. Is that a bad habit, or a sign of a latent problem? Tough to know, but it might be worth taking a swing elsewhere in the win spot, just for fun… One contender to consider is #3 Weather Wiz (4-1), who dominated a never-won-three allowance last time out and makes his third start off a break in here for trainer Jamie Ness.

WAGERS