ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 3, BACHELOR PAD

FIRST RACE

CANADIAN SECRET had worked well prior to a wide fifth-place finish in his comeback vs. $10K NW2 claimers. He’s halving in price and should make some noise with that tightener under his girth. FRAT PARTY dominated $5K maidens going seven-eighths in his final 2020 appearance. He appears to be Kimura’s choice of the two Banach runners over PRINZ OF VIOLENCE, who rode a golden rail to a third-out maiden score in a $5K Tapeta route Nov. 6.

SECOND RACE

ANITA GRIGIO raced four-wide throughout over an inside-biased track while closing for second in her season debut against NW3 stock on opening day. She blew out a bullet on the training track, and should take some beating against this NW2 opposition. SIMPLE SOUVENIR looks next best off a wide-closing victory over $15K maidens on opening day. She’s a good fit here Beyer-wise. ROLLING SLOAN, a $40K claim last summer, came up empty when plunging to $10K in her final start last year, but could hit the ticket after posting a series of five-furlong drills.

THIRD RACE

BACHELOR PAD is plunging to the bottom NW3 level for his first outing since an Oct. 17 fade job vs. OS/$40K stock, and could be taking an edge. All three of this barn’s winners at the meet were horses making their 4yo debut. DANCING DEREK capped his 2020 season with a fast (73 Beyer) front-running score over $5K NW2 opponents under Civaci. TAHANA raced against the grain of an inside bias most of the way in his dull Oct. 31 race at this class and distance.

FOURTH RACE

BARILKO ran well when fresh in the past, and seems poised to fire one of his better shots off a long layoff in this $15K NW2 tilt. The 4yo has been working right along and retains leading rider Wilson, who was aboard when he crossed the wire on top in a $25K NW2 turf sprint in September.

CHASING VINNY closed strongly for second in a shorter sprint at this level Nov. 8. Fukumoto broke his maiden and was aboard for the aforementioned good race. TALL WATER resides in a live barn and has maintained solid form since early last fall. ACT OF BOB is another possibility in his return from a sabbatical.

FIFTH RACE

VICTOR’S DESTINY prevailed in a front-end battle before fading late to fifth in a deceptively good comeback vs. $7.5K stock. The need-the-lead type is dropping to the basement and appears to have found a field that he can wire. BADJEROS BOY landed on the edges in a key $7.5K contest Nov. 19, after which he got the winter off. The veteran closer is picking up Kimura, who’s 1 for 2 at the meet for the Drex. SLIP KID is cheapening up for his second try off the Tiller claim, a high-percentage angle over the past five years.

SIXTH RACE

LUCAS N’ LORI hasn’t found the mark since his victory over OS NW2 rivals on the inner turf in his 2020 opener last June. He’s cheapening up to meet $25K NW3 foes in this main turf route, and is eligible to run big off the bench. STRIKE THE TOP beat $20K NW2 claimers last time April 4 at Gulfstream, a race that’s yet to yield a next-out winner. JUAN PABLO is another Gulfstream shipper returning from a freshening who could have a say in the outcome. The runner-up from his lapped-on fourth March 13 returned to win over $12.5K conditioned claimers with a 76 Beyer.

SEVENTH RACE

FIFTH SEASON was knocking on the door at this level last fall before heading to the sidelines, racing three-wide throughout in his last two races on the Tapeta. Leading rider Wilson retains the mount on the 4yo. STRIKE A BEAT was competitive against the top choice in her last four outings, and should be a factor with blinkers on. ARTIE MY BOY and FINAL ECLIPSE, both sidelined since September, are candidates for the lower rungs of vertical wagers.

EIGHTH RACE

ST. PADDY’S DADDY was third among two nextout winners the last time he saw action vs. $15K maidens on Turfway’s synthetic Tapeta surface March 13. The expensive son of Tiznow is bred to be a late bloomer and has been working like he’s ready to put it all together. BOCELLI has been gelded since finishing up the track behind stablemate ST. PADDY’S DADDY in the aforementioned key race. He could wake up with Kimura taking over. HIP TO YOUR TRICKS is adding blinkers off a four-wide third-place finish in his encouragingly comeback. Use BIRCHMOUNT RD in the super with Boulanger aboard.

SCRATCH BOARD

Here are the horses entered today who have been scratched in the last 45 days and have not raced since the scratch. Definitions: Off the turf: Turf race switched to main track. Trainer: Any scratch made by a trainer, including ones for weather, medical issues, a decision not to run in a stakes race, a horse entered back the next racing day, or a conditional entry (i.e., main track only for a turf race). Vet: Injury or illness. Steward: Administrative issues like medication and eligibility.