Nine races will wrap up the week of racing at Hot Springs, Arkansas. We saw some exciting stakes action yesterday. Proxy proved he can run big races outside of Churchill by nailing Last Samurai on the wire in the million dollar Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap. Red Route One got a quick pace to close in to and Joel Rosario got him up in the last strides to win the Bath House Row, which guarantees him a spot in the starting gate for the Preakness Stakes next month. First post for the Sunday program is 12:38 (CT).
I’ll be covering this exciting meet on the ITM Blog, along with posting some updates and thoughts from time to time on Twitter @EricSolomon718. Feel free to reach out!
| Race | Top Pick | A | B | C | Exotics Menu |
| 1 | 3 | 3,5 | DBL, PK5 | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 5,7 | DBL, PK3, PK4 | |
| 3 | 9 | 3,6,9 | DBL, PK3 | ||
| 4 | 9 | 9 | 2 | DBL, PK3 | |
| 5 | 1 | 1,5 | 7 | 9 | DBL, PK3, PK5 |
| 6 | 7 | 7,9 | DBL, PK3, PK4 | ||
| 7 | 8 | 8 | 3,4 | DBL, PK3 | |
| 8 | 4 | 4,8 | DBL | ||
| 9 | 9 | 8,9,10 | 12 |
Race 2, #2 Press Snooze (6-1 ML): He’ll make his third start off the layoff today, and he’ll stretch out to two turns for the first time in a while. Look for him to closer to the pace than he was in his last two starts. His last win came at 1 mile and 70 yards on synthetic at Presque Isle back in July, but he has a higher winning percentage on dirt. He makes sense in this race where some of the shorter prices feel vulnerable.
Race 5, #1, Released (9-2 ML): Therideofalifetime (#9) is a major suspect dropper in this race. He was claimed for $50K and makes his first start for his new connections for $6,250. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a horse like this scratch. However, if he does go, he’ll likely be well backed and I think it’s a good spot to try to beat him. I’ll use Released on top for the leading connections of Robertino Diodoro and Cristian Torres. He was a winner at open $6,250 level three back, which was the last time he ran for Diodoro. He was claimed out of that race, but reunites with his old connections again today.
Race 7, #8 Sinner’s Sin (10-1 ML): His 5th place finish last out in allowance company looks a lot better when you look at the success that the runner-up, Skelly, has had in his last three starts since that race. That was a tough field to face winners for the first time. Moquett gave him a little time off and now brings him into this high priced claiming race, where he’s offered for a $75K tag. I have a few questions about some of the shorter prices, especially the favorite, Efficiency (#4). He’s class of the field, but I wonder if six furlongs is going to be too short for him.
Race 8, #4 Jackman (2-1 ML): The featured race today is a $30K starter allowance race. There’s several horses that want to be forwardly placed, but Jackman is the fastest of them all. I think he can hit the front, which puts some of the other contenders in this evenly matched race at a disadvantage. I think he can hold them off late here. Do note that he’s cross-entered as a MTO in a five furlong sprint race at Lone Star today. I’m going to assume he winds up racing here, where the purse is $20K higher than the race in Texas. If someone is going to catch him, I’d think the most likely one to do so would be Ultimate (#8). It’s been exactly a year since his last win, which came on this oval at a similar level. He appears to have the best late pace in this race, and if the top pick has to work too hard, I see him as the beneficiary.
