ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 7, DIAMOND PRINCESS

FIRST RACE

REGAL QUALITY was just up to break his maiden over a one-turn mile at Laurel in September and he has improved in his two starts in NY, including that last one when dropped to this level and giving game chase all the way before falling short of odds-on Analyze the Odds; right back at the same level off the claim but needs a trip from the rail. DOMAIN was claimed by Linda Rice out of a hard-fought win on the class drop two starts back and he came right back to win again when closing down a solid pace over this distance; threat right back looking for three in a row while dropping back down. STARSHIP ZEUS caught a sloppy track and flattened out late to just hold 2nd in his first start back from a long layoff last month; consistent 7yo has earned a series of figures that make him tough in here, and they are finally running him where he belongs, but he never wins.

SECOND RACE

THEFINALCRAZYDUDE improved two starts back when wiring maidens and he came right back with a better effort last time while racing clear on a fast pace at a big price and getting run over very late by a troubled Proximate to Power; has some speed to his inside but figures tough right back if showing the same speed in this spot. TAKEOFF had speed up the rail to contest the pace over a sloppy track last time but he was no match for Monteleone, a horse who lays over a field like this one; last two starts over fast dirt are separated by almost a full year but one resulted in an 80 Beyer in a fast-paced route at Churchill and the other was his frontrunning maiden win with a 79. CHATEAU spent the early part of his career racing on synthetic, then tried turf off the layoff, but he’s better on dirt and better sprinting; wired a field over a sloppy track to finally break his maiden in his first start off the claim by Dubb/Servis and has to be considered a threat right back.

THIRD RACE

BOLD GEM may not be able to run at all but he was very green and climbing over that sloppy track first time out and caught slop again in his next start while being kept strongly in hand and out wide despite showing more speed; had no chance with heavily-favored House Limit last time but was once again strongly rated early after showing speed, and wonder if he might not be turned loose this time as he takes the drop. OUR HONOR blew a clear lead two starts back over a sloppy track but only after breaking slowly and then overtaking a solid pace in that spot, and he may not have been suited by that longer two-turn route when losing at another short price last time; returns sprinting after being laid up off the claim by a hot trainer. ALRAHAAL debuted over a mile on a wet track and made heavily-favored Domain work for that win every step of the way, then stepped up and couldn’t go with the aforementioned House Limit; drops back down while turning back to sprint.

FOURTH RACE

We’re used to seeing maidens from the Linda Rice barn improve significantly following a debut run and that was certainly the case with CAPTAIN FROST who looked like a winner every step of the way last time en route to a blowout victory; back quickly at the same distance. DURKIN’S CALL improved noticeably when taking control of the pace and running away from maidens in the stretch back in October and thought he backed that race up well when racing Just Right for a long way before giving in and losing 2nd last time to Pipes, who came back to finish a good 2nd in the Damon Runyon with an 81 Beyer; think he’s the one to beat though he has been listed as a vet scratch since that last start. CLASSIC CZAR chased down maiden claimers and went clear to win his debut sprinting at Churchill and while he didn’t necessarily improve when stretched out for his next start, he did catch a wet track and the three that finished in front of him all has prior stakes experience.

FIFTH RACE

DASH FOR DOLLARS was never a factor after breaking slowly in his short sprint debut over a wet track at Finger Lakes, but he did rally for 3rd from far back and he gets some changes that may make a difference for his second start, most notably the stretch out, as his dam was a multiple stakeswinning router in her career. TAZMONIAN DEVIL has been sent off a big prices in his first two starts while failing to make an impact but he has also

faced much better horses in the form of Le General and recent stakes winner Not That Brady; big class drop for this. POKER GAME dropped to this level last time and was no threat to front-running Macs Revolution while gamely getting 2nd and outfinishing both AWESOME ADVERSARY and favored SHOCK THERAPY in the process48 Beyer earned for that effort is the top last out figure in the field but leaves him little room for error. TAYLER’S THE BOSS was claimed by a barn on a good run two back but bumped into a blowout winner upon his return and settled for 3rd; back to the level of the claim with the back races to contend and enough speed to land a trip in this spot. SOLITARY GEM scratched from what appeared to be a much easier spot here on Friday to await this, and she does have a couple of figures that stand out in this field as well, though this does appear to be the tougher field; lost her best chance when stumbling badly at the start last time. SWEET AUGUST LADY has never been entered for dirt prior to this, but she hasn’t exactly distinguished herself as a turf horse so taking a shot on the main track at the two-life level in January may not be the worst idea in the world; raced four wide over a track featuring a strong rail in her career debut on dirt.

SEVENTH RACE

DIAMOND PRINCESS looked green after being taken back throughout the running in career debut that she appeared to really need then failed to improve when switched to turf for her second start; took a step forward back on the main track last time with blinkers on and figures tough if just running that race back in this spot. MY BEST FRIEND wired a field of $20k claimers at Parx first time out then shipped here and outran her odds in a NY-bred stakes; dangerous speed in this spot as she ships back in after racing clear and just failing to hold as the favorite last time. STABILIZE steps up for a trainer having a good meet here after upsetting maiden claimers over a wet track first time out; surprised first time out but has a little pedigree and doesn’t land in the strongest field despite the class rise.

EIGHTH RACE

RETONOVA looked good winning the first two starts of his career on this circuit before finishing a good 3rd in the Mike Lee while stuck on a dead rail for the entire race, and then failing to stretch out effectively in his next two starts; needs to step it up a bit but is eligible to do so after catching a couple of speed-favoring tracks in his last two starts at Finger Lakes. TRIBECCA 0-3 since being claimed by Rudy and returned to dirt, though he was just in too tough last time and didn’t run poorly at all in his two starts prior to that; returns as a new gelding with dangerous speed. ARTHUR’S HOPE has turned out to be okay since arriving from Panama with an excellent overall record and he was dead-game last time while just failing to hold with a new top figure; effort two back much better than it looks after losing all chance at the start.