There was another five figure payout with this wager on Sunday, when those who picked all five correctly were rewarded with a $10,423.25 payout. The Cross-Country Pick-5 will start earlier than usual on this holiday Thursday, with the wager getting underway with the first race of the day at Monmouth Park, which goes off at 2:00 (ET).
Leg A: Monmouth Park, Race 1:
The day begins with an open $12,500-$10,500 claiming race for fillies, sprinting five furlongs on the turf. Ben’s Sunny Island (#7) is the morning line favorite and she fits the profile of the kind of horse that has been winning races on this course, especially at this rail setting. She has some tactical speed, but don’t expect her to be on the front end, especially with fast gate horses in this race like Parisian Vibe (#1), Flip My Id (#3), and Threatlevelmidnite (#8). She makes her third start off the layoff and she reunites with Paco Lopez, who rode her to an easy victory at the Meadowlands last fall at this distance. She likes the local turf course and should be rolling late. Threatlevelmidnite is the clear danger in this race. She, too, is making her third start off the layoff, but she’s getting back on the grass for the first time this year. While she only has one win in 15 career starts on the lawn, she was very sharp in some of those turf races in Maryland and Virginia last year. Jorge Delgado’s barn is firing on all cylinders right now.
Leg B: Monmouth Park, Race 2:
The first dirt race of the afternoon is a $5K starter allowance going one mile. Last year, No Salt (#2) came here to run at a similar condition, making his first start off of a similar layoff after going off form early on in the winter. He broke near the back of the field, but he came with a powerful run to easily take the lead and draw off to win by seven widening lengths. I think several of the other contenders in this race want to be forwardly placed, so I do think he’ll have some pace to close into. This is another runner that Paco Lopez has ridden to victory, and I do think this might be a rare occasion where there might be reasonable value on one of his horses. Both King of Hollywood (#3) and Golden Juan (#6) are coming out of the same taxing race here on 6/15. Both horses ran hard and finished within a neck of each other. Neither horse is super consistent, so I do think there’s a reasonable chance that both of the two shorter prices on this morning line show up with a less than stellar effort. Itwasthedevilsidea (#5) will be where I’ll back up in this race. Louis Linder has brought two runners here from Parx so far during this meet and he found the Winner’s Circle with both of them. He’s also not the most consistent runner, so I’m not convinced that he’ll be able to run the best race after running a big effort early last month at Parx. However, this one mile distance suits him well and he did put two strong wins together last spring.
Leg C: Monmouth Park, Race 3:
The top five finishers from a $12,500-$10,500 claiming race last month, are all back in another race at this exact condition. The only difference is that the rail setting was at 12 feet when they met on June 8th, and today, rails will be all the way out to 36 feet. The complexion of that race completely changed when the saddle slipped on the pacesetter, who was the lone speed in that race. Bizmayline (#8) was able to sneak through an opening and win that race as the 6-5 favorite coming from off the pace. There isn’t a lot of early speed in this race and both Bizymaline and Red Wind (#9), who had desirable posts last time, are both stuck on the outside today. I think this race could set up nicely for Up Her Sleeve (#7), making her first start of the year for Bruce Levine. Levine has good numbers off the layoff and he’s scored one time with four starters at this meet so far. She ended her 2023 campaign with a dead heat victory while pressing a slow pace at Laurel. She was overmatched when facing starter allowance company on the NYRA circuit last summer, but her Maryland and Tampa form stack up favorably with this group. She had three strong races on this oval in 2022, winning once and losing by less than a length in her other two tries. I think she has a big shot in this race. Distorted View (#5) was flat on the turf at Parx last out when getting on the grass for the first time since last June. She tried to get on the grass four other times in that span, but Mother Nature had other ideas. She has had some big efforts in the past on the grass, so even though her current form isn’t the greatest, I’m willing to look past that last effort and use her in this spot. Both Bizymaline and Red Wind are the ones that I’ll play back from the 6/8 race. They both have favorable trips from favorable posts, while getting some assistance from an equipment malfunction on the lone speed horse who was allowed to set a soft opening quarter. Paco Lopez opts to get off Never So Lucky (#6) in favor of Bizymaline, which feels positive. Camacho is likely going to need to put Red Wind into play early from her outside post. Both mares are live in this spot, but I think both could wind up being shorter prices than what their fair value might be in this spot.
Leg D: Belmont at the Big A, Race 5:
We’ll switch over to New York for the last two races in this sequence this afternoon. This race is a $50K starter / optional $35K claiming race for fillies and mares going the one turn mile on the main track. Graceful Rose (#7) gets top billing for me in this race. Toss her last effort on the turf and her previous three dirt tries were strong enough to beat this field. She was a winner with $40K N2L claimers at Laurel four starts ago and she was second twice at this condition and distance in her last two dirt tries. Despite moving from Maryland to New York, I do believe that Cover the Spread (#4) is getting some class relief in this race. She faced a strong five horse in N1X allowance company last out at Pimlico. The three fillies that beat her that day all came back to win in their next starts, with the two clearing the N1X level and the winner clearing the N2X condition. This is her first try with starter allowance company, which she is eligible for as she broke her maiden in a $45K maiden claiming race on debut. I’m going to try to get out of this race with leaving both of the Linda Rice maiden winners, Just Music (#1) and Enigmatic (#3) off of my tickets. Both runners broke their maidens in races that were taken off the turf. While it was smart to place them in those races, neither beat much that day. Just Music was a winner at 10 furlongs and Enigmatic ran huge last week. I’m not convinced either can replicate their best efforts in this spot.
Leg E: Belmont at the Big A, Race 6:
The final leg of this sequence is a stakes quality, optional claiming/allowance race for four year olds and up, sprinting six furlongs on the outer turf course. With a three horse entry signed on for this race, it’s going to be hard to get proper value if you like those runners (which is the case for me with two of them). Big Invasion (#1X) is a part of that group, and he clearly feels like the one to beat in this race. He’s a multiple graded stakes winner that is likely glad that he’s not dealing with Cogburn today. He was completely bottled up in the Grade 1 Jaipur last out, but he looked like he was ready to fire a strong race. I don’t think he was ever going to catch Cogburn, who stopped the clock in under 1:00 for the 5 ½ furlong distance at the Spa. He was closer to the pace than usual, but blocked pretty much every step throughout the stretch. I like the drop in class to set him up for some of the stakes races coming up at the Spa this summer. High Front (#1A) would likely be a better price without being tethered in the wagering to Big Invasion. He struggled in his last two efforts, but he was really good last spring. He was sharp off the layoff at Keeneland and I think he fits well with this group. If Big Invasion were to pass on this spot, I’d be fine using him in his place, with the hopes of getting closer to 5-1 on the price. While I won’t complain about having Heaven Street (#1) on the ticket, his recent form is suspect and by his lonesome, he’d be one that I’d be playing against with this group. The price play for me in this spot is Charging (#5). He was buried on the rail in the Get Serious Stakes at Monmouth last out. The rail has not been the place to be on that course all meet long and his trip was less than desirable. He was forced to steady around the ⅜ pole when things got tight. He was advancing along the rail, but he never really had a path to run through. He darted inside where the chute met the course proper, but he had to tap on the brakes once again to avoid running through the safety rail. He finished 7th day, but likely would have done better had he not drawn the rail. The six furlong distance is interesting for him and despite getting nailed on the wire in the King Leatherbury Stakes at Laurel two back, I liked that race for him since he showed a new dimension of being able to stalk the leaders and make a bid at the top of the stretch. That’s likely going to be the kind of trip he’ll need here with Boat’s A Rockin (#7) signed on. I think it’s worth trying to have at least one horse on this ticket that isn’t a part of the three-pronged entry.
