By Ed McNamara
Gulfstream Park – Photo courtesy of gulfstreampark.com
My mother always stressed the importance of making a good first impression, which I did in last week’s debut column.
I recommended a $40 play on Aqueduct’s late pick 3, and it cost only $30 after one of my horses scratched. The $1 pick 3 paid a bountiful $226 after Lake Avenue ($10.80, Demoiselle Stakes), Shotski ($19.60, Remsen) and Maximum Security ($4.60, Cigar Mile) all led wire to wire. Net gain: $196.
I also played a $1 double from the Demoiselle to the Remsen, and a $15 outlay returned a tasty $103.25. (Sorry for not touting you on that one.)
Unfortunately, there was the nagging regret that I would have won twice as much if I’d played the double and pick 3 for $2 instead of $1. As I endured gridlock on the Belt Parkway, I recalled the wisdom of the venerable maven Harvey Pack: “The less you bet, the more you lose when you win.”
You rarely keep racetrack profits for long, but maybe I can keep this column in the black for a while. Let’s move from chilly Aqueduct to balmy Gulfstream Park, which is featuring an all-stakes pick 5 starting in Saturday’s sixth race.
I’m suggesting a very affordable $37.50 play (base bet 50 cents) with singles in the second and last legs. The numbers: 2,3,4,6,9 with 1 with 4,6,11 with 3,5,7,8,9 with 1.
$100,000 Sugar Swirl (6 furlongs, Grade 3)
Stormy Embrace is the best closer in a competitive sprint loaded with speed – Bronx Beauty, A Bit of Both, Lady’s Island, Heavenhasmynikki – and the turnback from 7 furlongs could help her. I’ll be keying Stormy Embrace in exacta boxes with each of those four and using all five in the pick 5.
$100,000 My Charmer (mile, turf)
Mitchell Road, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, looks like a standout. Her only bad races came against Chad Brown’s superstars Uni and Sistercharlie, and she has two wins and two seconds on Gulfstream’s grass. She also has speed, the rail and tactically brilliant Jose Ortiz. The only problem could be the price, which may hover around even money. At 7-5 or more, I’ll bet her to win.
$100,000 Rampart (mile, Grade 3)
Cookie Dough drew the far outside in a field of 11 but looks like the main speed with Paco Lopez, an excellent front-end rider. The others on the ticket are Molto Bella and Pink Sands.
$200,000 Fort Lauderdale (1 1/8 miles, turf, Grade 2)
Marathon specialist Channel Cat is the marquee horse, but is 1 1/8 miles too short for him? He’s 0-for-2 at the distance, but this is a major class drop from the 1½-mile Breeders’ Cup Turf, in which he was only 2½ lengths behind likely Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. If Channel Cat finds 9 furlongs too sharp, expect the winner to come from among Flavius, Cross Border, Marzo and Admissions Office.
$100,000 Harlan’s Holiday (1 1/16 miles, Grade 3)
I’ll single Prince Lucky, who goes for longtime Gulfstream dominators Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez. He’s 2-for-2 over the track, 2-for-4 at the distance. War Story will draw money, but I’ve never been a fan of his because he’s so inconsistent. Bodexpress, the loose horse in the Preakness, has speed and three seconds in four tries at Gulfstream, including one behind Maximum Security in the Florida Derby. I’ll use him under Prince Lucky in an exacta.
And good luck.
