Several possible singles in pick six

Going into Friday at Emerald Downs the pick six had a carryover of $21,574. With the likelihood of no single winning ticket, the pool could reach $30,000 on Saturday.

There are a couple of horses on Saturday’s eight-race card to use as a foundation for a pick six ticket.

The jackpot wager begins on the third race, a maiden special weight race for 2-yearolds. No singles there as it is a wide-open event with all 10 horses entered being first-time starters.

Nationheart stands out in the fourth race, though.

Trained by Kay Cooper, Nationheart drops into a $15,000 claimer for nonwinners of three, and the last time he ran in conditioned claimer, on Aug. 1, he romped by 5 3/4 lengths in a $25,000 nonwinners of two.

The 5-year-old Washingtonbred son of Nationhood ran a big race in his first start as a 4-year-old, finishing second in a conditioned allowance race May 15. However, he did not fire when he came back June 2 in a first-level allowance race with a $30,000 claiming option.

The drop in class makes sense, and with a sharp fivefurlong move in 59.40 seconds on June 20, Nationheart appears to be sitting on a big effort while dropping to a new low. He will break from post 5 in the six-horse field with Kevin Orozco up.

Race 5 is a $25,000 maiden claimer where coverage is needed. First-time starter Gypsy Gun and Ears to Us should be included in any multiple-race ticket.

Collecting Stars is the only horse needed in the sixth race, which is restricted to fillies and mares who have started for a claiming price of $3,500 in 2021-22.

Trained by Sam Dronen, Collecting Stars is perfect in two starts at the current meet and was an easy 4 3/4-length winner at the same level and distance June 4. The 5-year-old Idaho-bred daughter of Boos dueled through quick interior fractions before drawing off to win decisively.

She had been off 11 months when she won a $5,000 waiverclaiming race in her first start this year on May 22.

A six-time winner, Collecting Stars is the speed of the speed, could be sitting on a peak performance in the third start of her form cycle, and will be hard to reel in if she breaks alertly from post 3 with Juan Gutierrez up. Gutierrez was aboard for both of her wins this year.

Judicial, trained by Joe Toye, is the one to beat in the sixth race. After all, he has the most speed, owns the best lastrace Beyer Speed Figure, and figures to move forward in his second start following a layoff. However, he drew the rail and will need to be on is toes leaving the gate or he could get stuck behind horses.

The Charles Essex-trained Dark n’ Handsome, who is taking a substantial drop in price, figures to be a short price in an $8,000 maiden claimer that ends the sequence.

The drop from $25,000 to $8,000 is a concern, and he is not the most consistent horse around, so some coverage is recommended.