Think before leaning heavily on favorite

STICKNEY, Ill. – Golden Hornet could be an oddson favorite in a five-furlong allowance race Sunday at Hawthorne. That might not be a good thing.

Larry Rivelli, the perennial leading trainer in Chicago, has sent out two odds-on favorites during the two racing days of Hawthorne’s 2023 spring-summer meet: Cupid’s Number was fourth at 7-10 last Sunday, and Onasa finished second at 4-5 on Thursday. Going back to last October at Hawthorne, Rivelli-trained odds-on favorites are just 1-5-2 in 10 starts. Not good.

So, if you are looking at the win pool Sunday – and you

Bet Hawthorne with DRF Bets: drfbets.com should be, since Hawthorne is offering North America’s best straight-wager pricing, with just 12 percent takeout – you might want to look beyond the favorite.

Drawn on the rail, Golden Hornet will show speed under Orlando Mojica, who had a strong 2022 at Hawthorne and on Sunday is named on horses here for the first time this year. Golden Hornet, a 4-yearold Flatter gelding, found mixed success last fall at Hawthorne, clearing his first allowance condition before a pace-and-fade fifth in a race, like Sunday’s, for second-level allowance horses or $40,000 claimers. How will Golden Hornet handle this abbreviated five-furlong trip? Hard to say. But if he were to run back to his sharp Oaklawn winning performance Jan. 6, Golden Hornet will be tough.

While Golden Hornet sports a flashy 128 TimeformUS early pace rating, four of his seven foes have early pace numbers between 107 and 115, meaning the favorite will have to work to lead.

Maybe Star of Kodiak can run down the tiring speed at a price. His trainer, Max Quinonez, was out on his own for the first time in 2022 and won 30 races with 177 starters, including 12 winners at the fall-winter Hawthorne meet. Star of Kodiak has been much more a grass sprinter than a dirt horse, but way, way back into his form – January 2020 – Star of Kodiak was second with an 89 Beyer Speed Figure in a 5 1/2-furlong Fair Grounds dirt race. Short sprint trips suit him, and no doubt the gelding will have pace at which to run.

The feature is the eighth race on a nine-race card that’s easily the best among three so far this meeting. The races in total drew a solid 69 entrants and the late pick four, races 6-9, includes fields of 11, 9, 8, and 9. Watch and wager on Hawthorne at DRFBets.com.