All statistics unless stated other wise are situation specific. Example Last 5 years 1st Time Starter /MSW / Turf / Route = %
Any mention of Figures refers to my personal figures unless stated otherwise.
Expect typos and grammar errors! Time is of the essence and I do not even have the budget for intern around here.
Please feel free to leave Comments or reach out to me on Twitter (@c_cupples) with any questions and/or suggestions.
I will be covering the Early Pick 5 in detail, and quick thoughts on rest of card.
You can find John Pinder’s work on the late Pick 5 under the Gulfstream Park menu as well here at Inthemoneypodcast.com
If you were looking for Thursday coverage apologies as time ran short and just did not get it done and going forward I may be more focused on Friday through Sunday.
Irad is named on horses Tampa Bay but I am not entirely sure for which mount…… I would not be surprised if Irad wins Races 3 , 8 and 9 at Tampa Thursday, but definitely need to pay attention to changes.
Early Pick 5 is not one I am excited to play but I will have some action but will be looking for a budgeted play seeking some equity.
Will update as a surface change will completely change the sequence.
R1 – 2 7 8 9
R2 – 2 4 6 ( Considering singling the 2)
R3 – 2 4 7 9
R4 – 5 (or ALL)
R5 – 4 5 6 9
WEATHER – So Cautious even mentioning this as South Florida weather can be very unpredictable but seems to be a good chance of rain. So look for some Turf Only / Tapeta upgrade notes.
Race 1 I am going to mention 80% of the field here so obviously nothing overly clever.
A LINE
2 Battle Drum will take Irad money and has never sprinted. This colt has ran 4 respectable routes nothing hidden but one to include of course.
7 Madroc is the horse to beat in my opinion. Started with a solid debut at Keeneland, then tried stakes company as a maiden, and last time chased a very fast pace back in June. The time away is a bit of concern but maybe taking their time with this one who has showed some talent.
8 National Secret makes his second start for an ice cold Maker barn who is 21% 2ndout/Turf/Spt/MSW. Those Turfway fractions on debut are fast!!!
9 Gearing Up is a half to Gear Jockey going out for a barn who is 3 for 28 the last 5 years with first timers/turfSpt/MSW… I thought the turf works were a touch better than the clocker report had them.
B LINE
1 Awesome Empire and 3 Nabers both have worked well for Casse who is only 9% in this spot but did win the opener on Thursday with a first timer turf sprinting but I will say that filly has a motor and had showed her hand in the mornings.
3 SEE ABOVE
4 McHale is one to include if spreading but has no excuse the last 2 efforts in New York.
10 Ripton’s Music showed plenty of pace in two tries over the tapeta and took money both times. Gets to the grass and the Speed N Fade look is the obvious tell that Lasix might do the trick.
Race 2 is an evenly matched group tapeta sprinting.
A LINE Unless the Doubles point to a runner taking a ton of money I will just use the A’s although every one of these runners has races somewhere on their page that make them capable of winning here.
2 Royally Blue will be my top pick here with 4 nice tapeta sprints. Last time Irad lost an iron early then regrouped running up into a pocket not getting clear till late then made a run up into second. The Nov 23rd race was too far back and made a long sustained run. I may take a shot and single this mare on some tickets.
4 Jokes Up had a bit of trouble last time getting caught up in traffic but had plenty of room at the 8th pole and was a bit flat, but has a couple very fast races over this surface last year.
6 American of Course has the ideal post so should be able to get a good trip and has the races that fit.
Race 3 is another tough one in this sequence.
A Line
2 Skull Honor I thought had a slight improvement last time off the claim though had no excuse with a good trip running same pace in the lane. That dull effort might be good enough against this group.
4 Cajun’s Cookin tired last time when trying a route of ground for the first time but gets a slight cut back. I would prefer this gelding over the 2 from a price standpoint.
7 OZ basically broke and stopped on debut after taking money. I have seen no works since and nothing on clocker report.
9 Attestation has slowly improved in 3 starts and will try routing on the tapeta for the first time. With nothing in here catching my eye I have this one on top but not a confident pick by any means.
B LINE
1 Rocketum may take some money here. This colt was a slight downgrade for me just bit lazy in the mornings.
8 Sponge Time likely deserves to be in the A Line with expectation of improving with the addition of Lasix
Race 4 6250 DIRT CLAIMER NOOOOOOO… This is ALL or 1 for me
5 Trappezoid makes his 75th start here!! If you can say a $6250 claimer is the class of a field I think this would be the spot and maybe rounding into that 10 YEAR OLD FORM!!!! Ran a big race last time going 7 furlongs nothing clever just hoping he can do it again.
Race 5
A LINE
4 Dreambuilder(TOP PICK IF TAPETA) I do not necessarily need to have on my tickets if on the grass, but I would kick myself if I did not have on my tickets and the rain came after the first race. Big works on the tapeta prior to the last effort.
5 Bay of Bengal is another one of these talented invisible Clement runners that no one seems to have any work out information on.
6 Back In the Saddle (TOP PICK TURF) This colt did not show much on debut but took a huge step forward last time breaking sharp and making a big move 4 wide just loosing a photo at wire.
9 Classy War went off favored last time and had been outworking stable mate and eventual winner Souper Times. I think would need to improve off the last effort to beat my top pick as she pushed along well before turn and ran along same pace in the lane.
OTHER NOT USING
7 Cyber Security for Pletcher and Irad in something we keep seeing over and over… Takes a bunch of money just because of connections. Pletcher first time start/turf/routing for a tag = 1 for 15 the last 5 years and was a Vet scratch Dec. 21st.
