Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
BEER’S PICKS FOR MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR EMPIRE 6,
Sunday is closing day for the Belmont fall meeting and, as such, requires a mandatory payout in the jackpot-style Empire Six wager. The sequence contains three stakes races, beginning with the $100,000 Chelsey Flower in race 4. With an expected carryover pool of over a quarter million dollars, the total jackpot pool will be in the $2-3 million range.
Race 4: The Chelsey Flower is for 2-year-old fillies going a mile on the Widener turf and appears to go through Princesa Caroline (2), a half-sister to Lady Eli trained by Chad Brown and exiting a convincing debut win with a field-best 83 Beyer. I thought Enola Gay (1) looked good winning first time out for Shug McGaughey at Kentucky Downs, good trip and all, in the faster division of juvenile filly maidens over that 6 1/2-furlong trip. For deeper tickets, Lady Fatima (5) stretched out last time and was up late in a race that did come back to her a bit, and English Breeze (10) has shown some early ability and has held her own in stakes company recently.
Race 5: The morning-line favorites, One Eyed Jack (1) and Spice Road (4), are logical and difficult to stand strongly against while also both having some flaws. One Eyed Jack did improve on a steep stretch-out in distance in his second start while getting held up behind horses around the turn, but he also lost to a horse who just isn’t that good. Spice Road has already been defeated as the favorite three times in his first five starts, but he was disqualified once and was contesting the pace outside a talented rival last time on a day when the rail was strong. I’m also using Kid Bourbon (6), who made a useful debut early in the year and returned to finish a game third in a very fast race last month.
Race 6: The main decision to be made in this race is this: Do you want the more lightly raced and upwardly mobile 3-yearolds or the older, hard-hitting, more experienced horses. While I do think the 3-year-old Wadadli Princess (2) fits well here off the layoff and should have some pace to set her up, I otherwise decided to stand against horses like Cash Offer (5) and Bank Examiner (6). They can both win but I’ll use Hay Field (3), Archumybaby (7), and Sunshine Gal (8) instead.
Race 7: The $100,000 Pumpkin Pie came up with a tough field of eight fillies and mares going seven furlongs and includes several shippers. Ms Locust Point (6) and Chalon (7) are both accomplished, graded stakes-quality sprinters and they are going to be tough with their good races, though there are questions. It’s hard to leave them out but I like the way Majestic Reason (5) is developing for Graham Motion, and Philanthropic (3) has clearly taken a step forward as a 3-yearold for Jason Servis. Her ample early speed projects to play well in this field.
Race 8: The $125,000 Zagora is set for 12 furlongs on turf for fillies and mares and, like the Pumpkin Pie, has pulled a large and competitive field. Lemon Zip (8) has much to prove in races like this, but her improved form since stretching out to longer distances is undeniable and she finished an excellent second last time on short rest. Pamina (3) is not a cinch to handle this distance but she has some talent and did not get a good ride when stretched out at Woodbine two starts back. Lady Mondore (5) stole the Glens Falls on a walking pace to become a graded stakes winner last year and hasn’t won since. On the other hand, she has been facing much better horses along the way, exits a solid try before giving way late in her Glens Falls title defense, and has dangerous speed in this field.
Race 9: The sequence ends with New York-bred maiden claimers sprinting on the dirt. Some coverage is likely required in this race, which lacks a horse to trust. High School Crush (7) debuted in a similar race last month and stumbled at the start after brushing the gate to wind up at the back of that field. He finished up pretty gamely there to be third, falling just short of Cruising Strong (6). Welsh Gold (8) also makes some sense dropping down after racing wide in his debut at Saratoga. I wouldn’t mind being alive to just those three in some fashion and then taking my chances, especially on a smaller budget.