Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

RICK LEE’S selections and analysis for today’s races.

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LEE’S LOCK Concert Tour in the 12th

BEST BET Shashashak­emeup in the eighth

LONGSHOT Upstriker in the 10th

FRIDAY’S RESULTS 2-10 (20%)

MEET 121-353 (34.3%) •••• confident choice

•••plenty to like

••things to like

•educated guess

1 Purse $93,000, 6 furlongs, 3-yearolds and up, Arkansas-bred, maiden special weight

•••NAVY SEAL was beaten a nose, while 3 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, in his race against state-bred opposition, and he recorded a sharp subsequent breeze. TOPF ROAD RULES has finished with energy in consecutiv­e second-place finishes, and he is another who has continued to work well. MO BETTA is cutting back to a sprint after being narrowly defeated in a front-running route, which did earn him the fastest last-race Beyer figure.

2 Purse $40,000, 6 furlongs, 3-yearolds and up, starter allowance

••GALLANT PLUNGER was a clear $30,000 conditione­d claiming winner, and he is a versatile runner who loves this racing surface. LONELY PRIVATE earned a strong Beyer figure defeating conditione­d claiming rivals in front-running fashion, and he is capable of winning from on or just off the early lead. TOP GUNNER set a fast pace and kept on running in a 10-length maiden victory, and the lightly raced and rapidly improving colt may prove difficult to catch.

3 Purse $93,000, 6 furlongs, fillies, 3-year-olds, maiden special weight

•••SIANARA was beaten less than a length, while 8 lengths clear of third, in a sharp 2021 debut, and she figures difficult to beat with a clean break. MY MY MUNNY raced close to a fast pace before tiring in a useful career debut, and trainer Wayne Catalano wins at a high percentage with second-time starters. COPPELIA took money in her debut, but was one-paced in a fifthplace finish. She has recorded two quick subsequent breezes and figures to improve.

4 Purse $93,000, 6 furlongs, 3-yearolds and up, maiden special weight

••FOLLOWING SEA raced close to the pace in a second-place debut at Santa Anita, and the Bob Baffert trainee is treated with Lasix for the first time and picks up a Hall of Fame rider. AMAZING ROCKET has four months of strong works leading up to his career debut, and the nicely bred colt hails from a powerful stable. HAPPYMAC showed terrific speed in two races as a juvenile, and the son of champion sprinter Runhappy may be stronger and faster as a three-year-old.

5 Purse $105,000, 1 1/16 miles, 4-year-olds and up, allowance optional claiming..

••SANTOS DUMONT was compromise­d by a wide trip in a strong second-place allowance finish, and he has never finished worse than second in three route races and figures to be tracking a fast early pace. IMPOSSIBLE TASK finished a tired third in his first two-turn race in more than 16 months, and he has route speed and is likely to improve. BANDIT POINT was a fast-closing third in the six-furlong Nodouble Breeders’, and the Arkansas-bred has enough talent to post an upset.

6 The Carousel. Purse $250,000, 6 furlongs, fillies and mares, 4-yearolds and up

•••FRANK’S ROCKETTE won the American Beauty over a surface she does not prefer, and the multiple graded stake winner will be double-tough over a fast track. EDGEWAY was bet down to odds-on favoritism and did not disappoint defeating four rivals in a fast win at Santa Anita, and she was a dominating career debut winner last winter at Oaklawn. CASUAL finished second behind a heavily favored winner in the Spring Fever, but she will need a pace meltdown to rally past the top two fillies.

7 Purse $93,000, 6 furlongs, 3-yearolds, maiden special weight

••STAR SAILOR finished a competitiv­e third at Del Mar when last seen sprinting, and he is fit following three front-running route races at Santa Anita. He recorded bullet five-furlong breeze April 3 at Oaklawn. GLOBAL APPEAL was caught inside the final yards in a sharp 2021 debut, and the lightly raced colt owns the fastest Beyer figure and is an overlay at program odds. VIOLENT GIGI crossed the wire one position behind the second selection when making his career debut, and he should benefit from the racing experience.

8 Purse $106,000, 6 furlongs, 4-year-olds and up, allowance optional claiming

•••• SHASHASHAK­EMEUP is dropping into an optional claiming race following a second-place finish in a graded stake at Santa Anita, and he was a clear allowance winner in his only previous race last April at Oaklawn. ONE FOR RICHIE had a modest two-race winning streak stopped when finishing second at a similar condition last month, and the horse-for-course had a sharp subsequent breeze. ANCIENT WARRIOR crossed the finish line only a neck behind the second selection, and the strong finisher keeps rider Joel Rosario.

9 The Oaklawn Mile. Purse $400,000, 1 mile, 4-year-olds and up

••RUSHIE won the Grade II Pat Day Mile last fall at Churchill, and he returns fresh after an even effort in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Moreover, an expected fast pace will work in his late-running favor. WELLS BAYOU scored a wire-to-wire win in the 2020 Louisiana Derby, and he has trained well since a third-place return to the races in a graded stake at Fair Grounds. MY STANDARDS is a multiple graded stake winner who won this same stake in 2020, and he is a logical contender after taking on Grade I rivals in his past two races.

10 Purse $105,000, 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds, allowance optional claiming

••UPSTRIKER has not raced since November, but he fired fresh in a decisive debut win last August at Ellis, and he is battle tested in stake races and is training smartly for winning connection­s. MIGHTY MISCHIEF was bet down to odds-on favoritism and did not disappoint in a 3-length maiden win, and he drew a favorable post for a sprinter with good speed. GAME DAY PLAY was beaten a neck at this condition at Fair Grounds, and he fell too far behind in a late-running third-place finish in the Gazebo.

13 Purse $93,000, 1 1/16 miles, 3-year-olds, maiden special weight

••CONTINENTA­L COINS has raced close to the lead in two competitiv­e sprint races at Fair Grounds, and he is bred to improve at route distances and drew an advantageo­us two-turn post position. ARDANWOOD is an experience­d twoturn runner who is exiting a second-place finish. ANTIGRAVIT­Y crossed the wire less than a length behind the second selection, and he is an experience­d runner with competitiv­e Beyer figures.

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