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Sports - May 11, 2008Very interesting Belmont Stakes (G1) candidate emerged yesterday with the victory of Kentucky-bred and Japanese owned, raced and trained Casino Drive in the "Peter Pan" (G2) at Belmont Park. Saved ground stalking a good pace, swung out turning for home and proved decisively best. Third finisher Ready's Echo also ran well despite being "squeezed" at the start and falling hopelessly far behind early. The field for the "Preakness" lost one and gained two in the past few days. "Recapturetheglory," fifth in Louisville is running a fever and will not participate, while "Hey Bryn" an "Ichabad Crane" joined the list of probables. Today we have a total of four races all from Belmont Park. Today's Best Bet is #1 Skylighter in Race #2 at Belmont Park. Saturday's Results: Came close in a couple, but our Best Bet scratched and we had a nice 8-1 top pick finish second in Race #8 at Belmont. Only winner was in Race #10 at Belmont #4 Writingonthewall $3.70, as our original top pick scratched.Today's Horse Racing Picks: (# 1) SKYLIGHTER - Showed some promise last season and early into this year. She was freshened up by trainer Bob Frankel for two months, but had trouble at Keeneland as she "hopped" at the start of her return race. Shipped east, she has a sharp work on this surface for her second off the bench. (# 5) Anachronism - Could be the main speed in a race without much on paper. Finished second in all three of her starts, two at Gulfstream and one at Aqueduct. In her Florida finale she ran second to "Zaftig" who won a stakes here recently. (# 3) Jasmine Gardens - She's run well in both of her races at Gulfstream despite breaking slowly. Can ill afford another such mis-step, as the top two will make her pay. Contender if she breaks with her field. BELMONT PARK Race #THREE (2:00 PM Eastern) (# 6) P.R. PAUL - Looked sharp in breaking his maiden last out in start number two at Aqueduct. Tries winners for the first time, but he has tractable speed, is working well, resides in a hot barn (Mike Hushion), and has unlimited potential. The horse to beat. (# 1) Building New Era - Sharp last out in winning an "off the turf" event at Aqueduct and it was his third start for the Richard Dutrow barn. Capable against these, he has a pair of wins over this dirt in his past. (# 3) Vacation - Solid in all starts last season at two and this year at three. Not much speed in his arsenal, so he's susceptible to what happens up-front. Pace is projected to be "moderate' at best, so he has his work cut out for him. BELMONT PARK Race #SEVEN (4:10 PM Eastern) (# 8) SKY DRAGON - Broke his maiden in his seasonal debut at Aqueduct in start number 14. Solid turf record (11-1-3-3) and he started to get good midway thru last season. Has raced well over this course and he could pull off an upset here. (# 5) Logic Way - Makes his seasonal debut and his first start ever for trainer Richard Dutrow. Lightly raced, he is clearly a better runner on the grass and trainer has very good stats with new members to his barn (28%) and off of long layoffs (22%). (# 12) Stepaside - Makes his seasonal debut for Maryland regular Tom Voss. Gelded son of "Quiet American" has the talent to win this, but will have to be sharp off a six-month break and overcome the outside draw. (# 9) Conrad Crossing - He's a steady performer on the grass (15-1-7-2) and has been racing in Florida at various levels against "open" competition. He is a notch below the top three, but he's in shape while two of those are making their seasonal debuts. Can factor on his best. BELMONT PARK Race #EIGHT (4:40 PM Eastern) (# 7) PARADING - Overmatched in the Makers Mark (G1) at Keeneland after breaking a bit slowly. That broke a series of six straight solid efforts on the turf dating back to last year at Saratoga. Stalker may need to do all the work to run down a projected moderate pace, but he's capable of doing just that. (# 5) Ruff and Ready - Started the year with a pair of wins including a stakes at Gulfstream. Trainer Todd Pletcher ran him in the afore mentioned (G1) Makers Mark turf stakes at Keeneland and he helped set all the pace until tiring late. He's worked well since and is a serious wire-to-wire threat. (# 8) Wood Be Willing - Ran fourth in a recent stake at Aqueduct after breaking slowly. Winner "Silver Tree" was extremely sharp that day. This runner has some ability and is now under the care of "Hall of Famer" Allen Jerkens. (# 2) Summer Doldrums - Raced well in a number of turf stakes last season when three. Quality runner raced wide in his seasonal debut at Keeneland and should move forward in his second of the year. Horse Racing Picks Resources:
Check out the last five Horse Racing Picks Newsletters: Horse-Racing-Picks-May-10-2008 Horse-Racing-Picks-May-09-2008 Horse-Racing-Picks-May-08-2008 Horse-Racing-Picks-May-07-2008 Horse-Racing-Picks-May-06-2008 |
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