Nick's Picks: Colonial Downs picks July 13, 2024 * The Racing Biz

Nick’s Picks: Colonial Downs picks July 13, 2024

Nick Hahn
July 13, 2024

He’s probably the only public handicapper who’s ‘capped every race at Colonial Downs since Day One, and he’s back for more in 2024: Nick’s Picks returns with picks and analysis for every day of the Colonial meet.

DATE/POST TIME: July 13/1:30
RACES: 9
CARRYOVERS: None

RACE 1

Maidens start out the card on the dirt as nearly all in this field see a jump in class. Love Me Tender and Elvis Himself in the same field.

8. River Ridge	If Campbell’s pupil can run close to his Hawthorne start, it should be a enough here. Outclassed but not trounced in his last start.
5. Elvis Himself	Elvis Himself all shook up to get on the lead himself but may find he’s not by himself.
6. Touched Up	Nyquist sired Touched Up will need a different appraoch on the dirt from his first start on the turf. Has shown that in mornings.

RACE 2

Nine two-year-old fillies conclude the dirt double with six making their first start.

4. Watering	With only works to really factor how Stidham’s Divining Rod filly runs, the more important ones are several weeks back and solid.
1. Cavalla	Campbell in a good position here to sweep the dirt double for Mellon Patch and sets Gallardo aboard.
9. Bella Cleopatra	Like Watering, the last work of Munoz’s filly is only fine-tuning. The Charles Town works a few week back show talent.

RACE 3

Maiden breakers offer several competitive choices to solve for the next two race winner on the turf.

7. Navani	Lynn Ashby’s filly had a sharp uptick in her switch to turf last time out, then a win over a solid foe here.
4. Mariano	Trombetta’s older filly had to regather after a return to racing at Laurel and goes back to her winning mile distance.
2. Abstract Moment	Woodberry Payne passed up an opening day mount to run here after running exactly a 55 Beyers in 6 of her last 7 starts.

RACE 4

At least four of the maiden turf sprinters have shown a preference for speed on the turf to the benefit of a closer.

1. No More Kisses	Beyers may not agree but Robb’s young filly, after sharply improving in his first turf start, may close into speed.
11. Notice Me Too	If you don’t like to focus on the pace syndrome, then Stidham’s filly is the way to go after a sharp May start in Delaware.
6. St. Susan	Reigning Virginia Derby-winning jockey Kendrick Carmouche rides Clement’s filly, bred and owned by Shel Evans.

RACE 5

Nearly all of these veteran turf route runners have produced a 90 Beyers once and 80 Beyers often at times in stakes company.

3. Dripping Gold	Comprehensively, Shug’s five-year old is the most consistent at a mile and a sixteenth, even if weather is a factor
1. Dude N Colorado	Despite having faced stakes standouts, Maker’s colt will need to win on the front end and may not get pressed.
6. My Sea Cottage	The last time Casse’s veteran went more than a mile, he yielded late…very late.

RACE 6

The new Boston stakes, a Secretariat Stakes preview, features a rematch of the Jim Murphy with Fulmineo and Crystal Quest.

6. Fulmineo	Any downlisting of the turf for weather will only be a positive for the rested colt of Delacour’s.
8. In a Jam	Casse’s colt won on the synthetic last time out but…
4. Crystal Quest	Trombetta’s colt had a great start to his career but has not cracked a stakes win outside restricted stakes company.

NICK’S NOTES

Picks continue below.
Friday’s card was canceled because of excessive rainfall. The deluge was a reminder of early September of 1999. Hurricane Dennis landed in North Carolina and dropped 3.75″ of rain in a six-hour period on Colonial’s opening day. On that ten-race card, jockey Jennifer Stisted won three races, Alberto Delgado won two, and Frank Douglas won a race aboard Thebe. Trainers known more for steeplechase racing, Paul Fout, John Fisher and Elizabeth Hendricks, all won races, and trainer Ferris Allen won the finale that was run without tote due to a power outage.
Saturday’s card features three stakes including the Boston, a preview of the Secretariat Stakes. Boston was a Richmond-bred of the early 1800s that won 17 contests in a row and 40 of 45 overall, in places like Hanover Court House, Petersburg, Broad Rock and Alexandria. Boston won multi-mile races that were usually run in heats (best two out of three). This century’s Boston features a rematch of Crystal Quest and Fulmineo, the top two finishers of the Jim Murphy Stakes.
Both the Virginia Oaks winner Thirty Thou Kelvin Virginia Derby champ Integration return to the scene of the crime, the former in the Beverly D. Preview and the latter in the Million Preview, to compete against older horses after winning Colonial’s featured stakes as three-year-olds.

RACE 7

Thirty Thou Kelvin reunites with Trever McCarthy for the first time since winning the Virginia Oaks in the Beverly D Preview.

1. Nadette	Drysdale brings his graded stakes winning mare and regular rider from Santa Anita after battles with tough foes.
2. Blissful	DeVaux’s mare ran on the soft going at Pimlico, after a consistent steady rise on the firm going prior.
8. Thirty Thou Kelvin	If Thirty Thou Kelvin, now trained by O’Connell, gets to the lead, she could stay there.

RACE 8

Like the Beverly D. Preview, the Million Preview returns the reigning Virginia Derby winner pitted against a small field of tough adversaries.

4. Integration	Shug will prefer the firm going, but recent off turf attempts aren’t discouraging Carmouche, happy to be back aboard.
6. Siege of Boston	Toner’s five-year-old hasn’t run a Beyer less than 90 since last year’s Kentucky Derby day, nine races back.
2. Nineeleventurbo	The other Drysdale shipper started the year with a turf sprint that didn’t pan out. After learning to win, learned not to lose.

RACE 9

11. Share the Blessing	Much improvement from the Fairgrounds slop to the Laurel firm for Curtis and Stidham. Shortening up helps.
3. Marian Cross	Ruiz, who rode Stidham’s Share the Blessing in her last start at Laurel, gets aboard Motion’s English-bred.
2. Apropos	Toner’s turf sprinter had been in the money at two different tracks in last couple starts, a nod from winning both.