ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 6, DOCTOR DOOM

FIRST RACE

HEYMACKIT’SJACK showed good speed in his debut sprinting on turf before fading behind a pair of next-out winners, including Rego Park winner Perfect Munnings; caught slop when switched to dirt last time and ran a similar race, chasing and then tiring late in a race that has proven to be live; drops for the first time with speed and will race with lasix for the first time. MR FANTASY debuted for this tag less than three weeks ago and weakened to finish 5th, but he did some racing on that spot while part of a three-way contested pace in a race that went to a closer; dangerous right back if running as well here. KIKKERLAND finished ahead of MR FANTASY last time but he didn’t do nearly as much work there while sitting a trip and getting outfinished; tries again.

SECOND RACE

MISS PEPPINA has faced better in her first two starts for Pletcher at Gulfstream and settled for third each time; appears to have found a likely spot here as she ships up, and she showed that she could run a bit when scoring pretty impressively in her career debut, after which she was raced over her head several times. PRINCESS PINKY was improving as a late 2yo/early 3yo while showing a preference for distance, but she missed a lot of time after breaking her maiden nearly two years ago; has been competitive since dropping in class for her last two starts and she has the speed to get the right trip in this race, which does not project to be run at a fast pace. BONUS BABY took a step forward when returned to dirt to face maiden claimers for the first time on that surface on New Year’s Day and won easily with a 65 Beyer; drops back down after facing tougher in her first start with other winners.

THIRD RACE

BROOKLYN LAW was making his dirt debut off the layoff last time when proving to be no match late for a rival he will be meeting again in this spot. but he did some good things in that race after being rated back off a moderate pace, and then catching some traffic coming to the stretch; facing tougher here but thought he ran well in that last one and can give him the chance to step forward at a price. TAINO and CONFORMIST exit the same race where they had no chance with a dominant front-running winner while both raced off the gold rail. TAINO can be considered lucky to have that debut win in a race where the favorite lost his rider while on a clear stretch lead, but he ran fine that day in his own right after taking money. CONFORMIST owns two of the top Beyers in the field and his speed projects to plat from the rail as he drops in class.

FOURTH RACE

DOUBLEPOUR ran the best race of his career when stretched out to this distance two back, just getting nailed on the wire with a field-best 60 Beyer; drops back down after stepping up and catching a wet track last time. LOULOVESTHERIVER ran a much-improved race last time in his second dirt start; wound up away from a rated pace after getting bumped at the start, but he made an early, wide run to contention that day and stayed gamely to be clearly second-best at the end; may not be facing a tougher field here despite racing for a higher tag. PATTY O’MARC has the pedigree to be a contender here as a full-brother to the multiple stakes-winning dirt router Super Surprise; scratched from an easier spot for $25k on Sunday where the winner returned a 45 Beyer.

FIFTH RACE

LEM ME HAVE IT enters this with an overall record of just 3 for 18 but she has probably spent too much time racing over her head and she has won each of her last two starts vs. claiming company; cuts back off the layoff while dropping to the lowest level yet for a red-hot trainer. BLUNT FORCE dropped to win in her final start prior to shipping into this circuit and she held that form up at Saratoga upon arrival, even running well in her first start after being claimed away from the highpercentage Amoss; working her way back down the ladder and goes off the claim for an underrated trainer here. PERSIAN QUEEN faced a much better field for this tag two back and was not competitive over a wet track; got wired by MOVIE SCORE last time in a race that didn’t develop at all up front.

SIXTH RACE

DOCTOR DOOM had no chance with next-out Jerome winner Capo Kane last time and he ran better than it looks two back while making his route debut as his rider lost his right iron out of the gate before recovering, then raced wide and was forced to make an early move, only to weaken late; threat to improve as he drops for his 3yo debut. BLU GROTTO has the figures to be considered the horse to beat in this spot as he drops to a slightly lower level, and he has the speed to go along with it; perhaps cutting back will be the difference after blowing a couple of recent stretch leads. AMERICAN GENTLEMAN dropped to this level for the first time while switching from turf to dirt last month and earned a competitive figure, though it wasn’t easy to find the excuse for that loss to a huge longshot; dangerous right back with speed from the outside.

SEVENTH RACE

BLINDWILLIE MCTELL has some questions to answer as he looks for his first victory since taking the Mike Lee back in May of 2019, not least of which is the fact that he was listed as a very scratch from a similar spot last month; went 0-5 last year as a 4yo but he was facing better horses right along and he did earn the best Beyer of his career off the layoff at Saratoga; one more chance as he drops into the right kind of race for the first time in a while. SOUTH AFRICA ran a winning race when back on dirt for his second off the layoff last September and took a tough beat at the end, and he has held his form since then while not necessarily improving; like his tactical speed in this spot. SEVEN LILIES was no match for a much strong field for the level two back when trying a mile over a wet track, but he rebounded with a career-best effort last time to run that field over in the stretch after a confident ride; needs some pace.

EIGHTH RACE

CAPE COD GEM dropped to this level last time and showed speed in a race that ultimately fell apart after the favorite dropped hid rider in the stretch; will take his speed from the outside as he keeps an aggressive rider. IN THE ZONE the horse to beat with that 56 Beyer showing from his last start at this level, though that number could use some confirmation; lasix on for his third attempt at the level. LITTERBOX has not factored in his first two career starts, both for this tag, with a lack of early speed working against him; cuts back after catching a paceless race over a mile last time.