How to play the Pick 4

Contention runs deep in most legs of the late Pick 4 at Turfway Saturday, with the possible exemption of the Spiral, a race in which I will single my top choice, Kitten’s Cat, in the late Pick 4 there. Here’s a look at the sequence, which begins with the eighth race, the Rushaway, follows with the Bourbonette and Spiral, and then concludes with a maiden special weight contest.

Race 8, the Rushaway

An ungraded, $100,000 1 1/16-mile race on the Polytrack for 3-year-olds, this race drew those that seem a cut below Spiral quality. That noted, there are no easy tosses for Pick 4 players. My value-based choice is Gorgeous Kitten (6), a 5-1 shot who had a rough trip in the John Battaglia, which contributed to him running seventh. Prior to that, he was a sharp winner of a maiden race over the Turfway strip in a race more representative of his potential. Others to use include Sailing Home (7), a proven synthetic performer who had been considered a possibility for the Spiral earlier in the week by Turfway officials; multiple dirt stakes winner Cool Arrow (4); comebacking Royal by Nature (5), who goes turf to Poly; and Hey Mike (8), who like Gorgeous Kitten is conditioned by Turfway leading trainer Mike Maker.

Race 9, The Bourbonette

A number of horses look capable of winning this race, a Grade 3 at a mile for 3-year-old fillies. In the end I settled on four runners to use, though at least a couple others don’t rank far behind. I like the value on 8-1 shot Awesome Boss (9), who has looked good in two starts at Oaklawn this year, and is trained by Ken McPeek, who has won two of the last seven runnings of the Bourbonette. Still, with her being untested on synthetic she is a question mark. So three others also merit inclusion in the Pick 4 with those being Delphinia (6) and Darkwingsoverdubai (3) – the two fastest on Beyer Speed Figures – and Gilded Lily (8), a well-bred filly with a two-for-two record.

Race 10, The Spiral

Choosing to play multiple horses in all the other legs of the Pick 4, now it is time to take a stand – so I will single Kitten's Cat (8), the classiest and fastest horse in the race.

Race 11, Maiden Special Weight

This is a tricky race to handicap as most of those that have raced have mediocre form, and the first timers have worked slowly on a whole. I’ll spread, using Harangue (6), Kitten's Solution (1), Knight's Dream (1A), Enhanced Edition (8), and So Random (3).