ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 1, IMPLICATOR

FIRST RACE

There is a stakes double on the card, with Grade 1 winners Bellafina and Mia Mischief meeting in the Carousel and Grade 1 winner Eight Rings launching his season in the Bachelor. In the opener, IMPLICATOR draws a much improved post over his last start, when he was second at this mile and a sixteenth distance after breaking from the 12 hole. The out was his first at two turns. JIMMIE T, who finished right behind top choice last time, draws well wide for the rematch. This one is from the popular multiple stakes-winning mare All About Allie, who banked $311K. BLANCO BRONCO is a consistent sort who has an age edge on top two as he is 4.

SECOND RACE

RIVER ECHO gives up recency to these as this marks his first start since December, but what he lacks there he makes up for in class as one who has represented himself well against steeper. ESPOSITO owns a series of competitive Beyer Figures. The quick ADULATOR gets in quite light under seven-pound bug Roberts.

THIRD RACE

NORTH SIDE has moved forward with each of his starts at the meet and like that he was favored against steeper in his most recent out. CONNECTION cuts back to one turn after showing speed around two, and that can be a winning move with a horse. I LIVED IT hooked a quick crowd in his debut last out. The May foal has since worked a smart half-mile at Oaklawn. Another of interest is UNCLE TAP.

FOURTH RACE

These go a mile and an eighth and there are reasons to believe STREET TO INDY might relish the trip. One of those includes pedigree, as he’s from a mare by stamina source A.P. Indy. He also has tactical speed, and might get a nice tracking trip behind a few of these. HUNKA BURNING LOVE and CANDY CARLOS own some strong Beyer Speed Figures.

FIFTH RACE

SILVER RIDE was a memorable winner opening day this meet, and the score came from the rail post. He exits a quick race in which he was favored. TOWN CHAMP is in the midst of a strong meet, with a 3-for-4 record at Oaklawn. He comes off a win in 1:08.80 and for the effort earned what ranks as this field’s best last-race Beyer Figure. A candidate to wire the field. BOYFRIEND MATERIAL is a consistent sort who could be sitting on a peak race here, in his third out since November. He might get a nice tracking trip off TOWN CHAMP.

SIXTH RACE

ST. JOE BAY exits what would seem to be a productive comeback race, as he was prominent for much of the Grade 2 San Carlos at Santa Anita in his first start since March 2019. The winner of the race, Flagstaff, came back in his next start to finish a a troubled second in the Grade 3 Count Fleet at Oaklawn. As for ST. JOE BAY, he’s since worked a sharp five-eighths over the local strip. WILBO boasts a strong record at Oaklawn. He’s seen steeper, much like top choice. TRINGALE exits a key stakes, with the runner-up coming back to win the Hot Springs Stakes at Oaklawn with a Beyer of 104 and the fourth-place finisher, Nun the Less, the Kentucky Cup Classic at TP, with a Beyer of 95. On a few pedigree points, the sharp DRENA’S STAR is from a multiple stakes-winning mare who

ran out $298K, while the dam of ALMITHMAAR was a Grade 2 winner of $1.1M.

SEVENTH RACE

FEDERAL CASE should be sharp for the move back to two turns off the quick sprint start at Fair Grounds. TAPSOLUTE has moved forward with each of his starts at the meet and could be sitting on a peak race in his third out since July. He also draws a useful kind of post. DETERMINANT moves back to a mile and a sixteenth and he’s fired his best Beyer Figures at the trip this meet at Oaklawn.

EIGHTH RACE

READY TO RUNAWAY is a three-time stakes winner against Minnesota-breds who has proven her mettle against open foes, with strong efforts at Kee and Oaklawn. She also owns the field’s best lastrace Beyer Figure. BYE BYE J picked up the third stakes win of her career last out, when taking the Downthedustyroad in good time at Oaklawn. She’s been flattered since the start, with the runner-up coming back to take an allowance at Oaklawn with a Beyer of 66, the third-place finisher, an optional $20K at OP with a Beyer of 67, and the seventhplace finisher, Dutch Treat, a $16K conditioned claimer, with a Beyer of 83. More than capable. NOMIZAR has won three of her last four starts. FLAT OUT SPEED is a two-time stakes winner making her first out since September. Other stakes winners in the field are BOOTYTAMA, SNEAKING OUT and MY SISTER MADI.

NINTH RACE

The Bachelor is the first of two stakes on the card. Grade 1 winner EIGHT RINGS launches his season at a sprint distance and he won his career debut over five and a half furlongs last August. From there, he went on to capture the American Pharoah over a mile and a sixteenth at SA. EIGHT RINGS shows some powerful works for his return, among them six furlongs in 1:11 at SA and fiveeighths from the gate in 59 seconds at Oaklawn. On a pedigree point, his dam was a Grade 3 winner of $426K. GINOBILI was Grade 2-placed at a sprint distance in February, when second in the San Vicente won by eventual Rebel hero Nadal. GINOBILI has recency on top choice, as well as a start over the track at Oaklawn. ECHO TOWN makes his stakes debut off a sharp allowance win. He’s from a Grade 2-winning mare and is a half-brother to Grade 3 winner J Boys Echo ($377K). EIGHT RINGS and ECHO TOWN could get nice tracking trips behind GINOBILI and LONG WEEKEND, the latter defeating some of these last out with his powerful win in the Gazebo at Oaklawn. The Beyer Figure of 95 that LONG WEEKEND earned for the effort is the best career number in the Bachelor. LIAM’S PRIDE, who was entered in an overnight race here Friday, is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Morning Line ($1.2M).

TENTH RACE

BELLAFINA, a three-time Grade 1 winner who ran second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, launches her season in the Carousel. The race is her first since late December, when she was second in the Grade 1 La Brea at home at SA. The stakes has become a key one. The winner came back to take the Grade 2 Santa Monica at SA with a Beyer of 100; the third-place finisher, the Kalookan Queen at SA, with a Beyer of 95; and the sixth-place finisher, Del Mar May, an optional $62,500 claimer at SA, with a Beyer of 92. BELLAFINA. meanwhile, shows some strong works for her return, and has had a chance to breeze over the local strip. As a testament to her class, she’s run in nothing but graded stakes for a long time now - winning six of them. On a pedigree point, BELLA FINA is a full sister to Diamond King, a multiple stakes winner of $713K. MIA MISCHIEF, another Grade 1 winner, has recency on top choice and might get the ideal trip behind the speed situated to her inside. MIA MISCHIEF also boasts a strong record over the local strip, as she’s 3-for-5 at Oaklawn. Those wins include a local allowance in March - her first start in nearly five months after going through the sales ring last November. AMY’S CHALLENGE is a multiple Grade 1-placed runner who also is a stakes winner over the local strip. She could be sitting on a peak race here, in her third out since last May.

ELEVENTH RACE

COPPER KING has been knocking on the door all meet and seems due to graduate soon. He’s a halfbrother to both Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird ($2.2M) and multiple Grade 1 winner Dullahan ($1.7M). A concern is whether he will get the pace he needs to fuel his run. Triple Crown nominee UNRIGHTEOUS meets older rivals, but owns the field’s best career Beyer Speed Figure - an 89 for his runner-up finish in a maiden allowance at Gulfstream Park in February. He’s back in the overnight ranks here, after a start in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby. RONAMO owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure.