ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 6, GO GO JAK

FIRST RACE

TAKEDOWN was not nearly as sharp over the second half of 2018 as he was earlier in the year, but is a horse with back class that moves into a barn with good first-after-claim numbers (24% wins, $2.53 ROI over the past 5 years, per Formulator). This horse is also fond of the one-turn mile trip and should get an honest pace to aid his rally. TALE OF FIRE is a well-travelled sort, a horse that has competed everywhere from Fort Erie to Dubai. Now he goes from Delaware to Gulfstream, and figures as the favorite following a second in an allowance in the fall for Navarro; accustomed to racing shorter but bred to get the mile; figures to be tough, though at a short price. DISCREET HEAT does not seem as classy as the top two, rising off the claim from $6,250 to $12,500, but is sharp and possesses a versatile running style; expecting him to play more of a stalking/pressing role from an outside draw and with KING BILI and TALE OF FIRE likely to be a part of the early mix.

SECOND RACE

After failing to keep up in his debut against straight maidens in a turf sprint, QUIZZICAL CAJUN has respected with a second and third in a pair of starts on the Gulfstream main track. Both races came for this maiden $50,000 tag, though in races that seemed stronger than today’s lineup. Last time out when third, for example, he finished 5 3/4 lengths behind He’s Smokin Hot, a repeat winner by 7 3/4 lengths against starter $50,000 company. TWISTED LICORICE chased the pace in a five-furlong grass sprint for this price Dec. 20, running in second for much of the race before caught nearing the wire for the place, ending up third, beaten 2 1/4 lengths; get the impression he can make the transition to dirt. RODDICK, second in all three of his starts, shows ascending Beyers but gets a class test on the rise from maiden $25,000 company.

THIRD RACE

BEBEAU performed well at first asking with a clear-cut second in the slop going a one-turn mile, and looks likely to move forward for winning connections with the stretch out to a two-turn route. A $400,000 buy as a yearling, he has a nice pedigree, being by Bernardini out of a grade 2-winning mare. COUNTRY HOUSE outran his odds second time out with a runner-up finish at 49-1 at Aqueduct Dec. 1, doing so in a fast race for the level. The form from that race has held up with a couple next-out winners from it, including fourthplace Midnight Curfew, who broke his maiden over the weekend at Aqueduct. OWNITIFYOUWANTIT debuted with a distant third in a sprint, and has the pedigree to improve at a route; slow works - typical for an Albertrani runner - but sold very well at OBS last year to fetch $435,000 after working a furlong in 10 flat.

FOURTH RACE

SUPERCOMMITTEE seems the class of the fourth race, a state-bred first-level allowance, after facing high-priced maiden claimers and allowance foes in New York; steady works for trainer Chad Brown, suggesting she is ready for her return after being away since October. ANABELLA QUEEN has been the runner-up six times over her 13-race career, and seems a mild value candidate to use underneath in the gimmicks; unplaced in her last two, but at least a close fourth most recently, a race that came with some traffic problems. REAGAN’S ODYSSEY likely goes off as a clear second favorite behind SUPERCOMMITTEE after a close second with a troubled trip Dec. 26 that no one missed. She tossed her head repeatedly before the start, broke poorly, and then finished well once clear of traffic at the head of the lane. Still, she went just one for 19 in 2017-2018.