ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 6, SHINING THROUGH

FIRST RACE

An 11-race Sunday card without a Rainbow 6 jackpot following the Saturday mandatory forceout will begin at 12:05p ET and with a big field of 2yo mdn.-claimers sprinting on the grass (surely turf racing will be ON again today, given the local forecast of sunshine and low 80s). Is today really the day for TODAYSTHEDAY? Might well be, considering the way colt loped home a sharp runnerup at this same level earlier this month; blinkers being added by David, who’s about to wrap up his breakthrough year; stalks from a good spot before moving along. PUGIN figures to spot the leaders a few lengths along the hedge when making an interesting turn-back from longer races; been showing genuine interest. NITRO TIME was overmatched in one of those ridiculously deep MSWs on a Stars of Tomorrow CD card and now gets major class relief.

SECOND RACE

Fairly close on a couple of occasions when staying put for the same $12.5k for which Velazquez et al haltered him in August, SENZAZIONE finally gets cut in half in claiming price when turning back from a smart runner-up effort in a sloppy Crc route; comes the one to beat here. YES FOR LESS also has been knocking on the door; looms a threat again when turning for home under the always-hot Saez. NIMBLE BEAST lost his best friend in his 14th start; might well reprise a familiar bridesmaid’s role on this requisite raise.

THIRD RACE

The straight-maiden ranks in Kentucky in the fall rarely produce a light spot, which is enough to recommend ROCKSTAR RO for duty here, even with his lack of grass experience; heady efforts versus a bunch of next-out winners strongly suggest he’s next up in the graduation queue. SHAFTESBURY and MUTARAAFEQ both debut for the streaking Pletcher juggernaut with the predictable long lists of a.m. works under their respective belts; either surely is capable, with the former perhaps getting a slight edge over the latter simply by taking on Irad.

FOURTH RACE

A couple of okay fall efforts in the mdn.-special ranks precede this initial try for a claiming tag from GOOD SHABBOS, a Team Jersey filly who’s been 2nd or 3rd in all but one of her 8 career starts; she’s been quite a money-burner to date, and might well come favored again here, but it’s a wonder what a first tag can do. YOU’RE THE BEST ran fairly well across town last month, also as a fan favorite; wouldn’t be much of a surprise. GILDED LADY actually finished first before being DQ’d and going to the shelf for nearly 4 months; those windows of opportunity sometime never reappear, y’know.

FIFTH RACE

Yes, those were state-bred mdn.-claimers that MY LIPS ARE SEALED crushed last month for the Team Block partnership, and this is a salty starterallowance into which the NY-bred 3yo now dips her toe, but further improvement over the 2nd start should put her in the thick of this; clean trip from the outer with Saez taking over would be no bad shake. CENTSLESS DRAMA clearly will be the one to catch, as she always is; speedy chestnut gal who’s been 2nd in each of her last 4 outings might have to turn back a couple of stretch-out candidates, Topo Grigio and Orencia, before dealing with the late comers. SPIN YOUR PARTNER was sharp at a $29 mutuel in her first Cibelli ask; interesting to see how she does off the 10-week layoff.

A mixed bag of 3yos and upward just trying to make it through their N2L condition could get its winner from most anywhere, but we’ll give SHINING THROUGH the nod to kick off a brand new round of Rainbow sequences, even with his less-thanideal career mark of 19-1-6-3. First try under the Sweezey banner was encouraging enough; a little follow-through under Paco would do here. BEE CATCHER drops another class rung for Motion, who thought enough of him to try him in a G3 earlier this year; liable to go favored here following his runner-up effort at the Big A last month, and why not. SHARETHEBLAME and the Maker comebacker DIGITAL FOOTPRINT both come well drawn in looking to shake their doldrums.

SEVENTH RACE

Sure seems like this race drew a lopsided amount of promising talent — even for your typical weekend 2yo-filly MSW in December at the Gulf championship meet. Will start with UNBRIDLED D’ORO, a blueblooded Fipke homebred who’s been sent through no fewer than 17 timed works since early August by her HOF-to-be conditioner; fact that Irad takes the call is a tip-off. Right alongside, MAIL ORDER has had 14 official drills of her own for HOF’er W.I. Mott; hot young sire getting the runners, that’s for sure. MISSION UP, favorably drawn in the open-air outer box, could be a sleeper; let the tote be a guide.

EIGHTH RACE

HELENA BEAT was unable to overcome a troubled start when beating a steady fade as the 8-5 favorite in her return to action earlier this month in a key race toward this N3L-$20k spot, but she stands to benefit in a big way from that effort; referring back to those Jersey Shore scores makes her viable in what’s clearly one of the deepest races of the day. SKYE SNOW jams down right away for Team Cox off her September score at Belmont; difficult to infer what the drop means, but Irad aboard speaks to the immediate intentions. LITTLE BIT GOOD and STEFANIE ON FLEEK both can contend out of the key 12/2 heat.

NINTH RACE

Somewhat confusing mish-mash of state-bred hybrids could find CHARLIE THE GREEK in front when it’s all said and done; dismissed at 53-1 in the Claiming Crown, he outran his odds when defeated just a couple lengths for all the money; similar stalk-and-go trip after sitting a rail trip might well work here. STARSHIP APOLLO comes a major question mark going this entire mile, yet he’ll surely factor in at some point; 15-time winner perhaps more a ‘has been’ than a dreaded ‘never was.’ DARDANELLOS, in the money in 10 of 17, tends to slog along for a share.

TENTH RACE

He’s still winless over the local course, but seems like KYLE gives it the ol’ college try every time he goes a-sprinting on the GP turf; trio of runner-up efforts earlier this year suggest he’s capable given the right circumstances; soon-to-be-8yo has the hot David barn in his corner. THE VIRGINIAN clearly is the one to overcome; the last-out just-miss over at Crc in his first start in more than 5 months should make him tough here. DIDNT DO IT and TALE OF KANTHAROS both go for Klesaris, who tends to do his best work with grass sprinters.

ELEVENTH RACE

Romping maiden score over at Gulf West by EL SOLITARIO earned him ‘the unkindest cut,’ and now he’s reasonably spotted in this N2L-$20k turf finale as one of a handful with the recency to get through the condition; edge from this corner in a typical GP head-scratcher. MR. TIP merits a very close look when dropping precipitously out of all those higher-end turf sprints; at one point, Sisterson is said to have thought a lot of this 3yo. BODIE CODY, 2nd or 3rd in 10 of 21, is a mandatory consideration for your get-out verticals.