After a fourth-place finish in the LeComte Stakes (G3), Wicked Indeed has been made the 9-5 morning line favorite in the Mine That Bird Stakes. (For those who don’t remember, Mine That Bird is the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby after prepping in New Mexico.)
However, while the son of Tapit is certainly a worthy favorite — his overall speed and late pace figures are among the best in the field — I think Hustle Up offers the best value.
Barring something unusual, the race goes through the locally bred and raced Todd Fincher trainee. The son of Abstraction has recorded a couple of insanely quick early speed rations in his two route tries — both wins (albeit versus fellow New Mexico-breds) — and will be tested for class today. His Databasebetting.com fair odds are 5-2 and he’s 3-1 on the morning line — and could drift higher.
If you’re betting the exotics, I’d use him with 3-Walker Stalker (12/1), 8-Wicked Indeed (9/5) and 9-Collusionist (10/1).
Bet: 5-Win on Hustle Up.
