Race 1

• 2  Stylish Quality
• 5  Posse Needed
• 1  Knarsdale
• It’s going to be tough to find any odds in this race. Stylish Quality popped a big one first time out. She’s best if she runs her best. Posse Needed had some trouble getting going in her maiden voyage, but has been working well for her return. Knarsdale is a FTS from the James Jerkens barn who has a nice, regular work pattern for her debut.

Race 2

• 1  Gee’n Tee
• 7  Undercover Agent
• 9  Greenhouse Effect
• Secondary (2, 3)
• There aren’t many price prospects today, so I’m looking at a flyer with Gee’n Tee. Considering he’s lost his first two races by a combined total of 75 lengths, I might be crazy, but he has a couple of positives. He’s dropping out of MSW into the claiming ranks, and that is always a powerful move. He also showed a little bit more speed in his last race than the previous effort. Finally, he has strong turf breeding and strong breeding for the distance. It’s not a particularly strong field, and while he may not be the best bet today, he has enough positives to attract a few bucks from me. Undercover Agent ran better on the main than on the inner and looks like the strongest of the horses that have started. Greenhouse Effect broke slowly last out and wound up very wide around the turn, but did pass some horses in the stretch. I like him to improve second time out. All in all an interesting betting race.

Race 3

• 1  Buckwellspent
• 7  Mister Monolo
• 5  Metal Magic
• Secondary (2)
• Buckwellspent will probably volley for favoritism, should be the front runner, and given the lack of serious speed, if he can ration his energy correctly, he’s got a chance. Definitely not as interesting at 2-1 though. Mister Monolo was racing with much better last year and seemed to show a little more interest when moved back to the main. Another interesting horse that will be a price. Metal Magic took a year off, came back with higher priced horses and ran a mediocre race. But he makes the logical price drop today and off his best he is very competitive here.

Race 4

• 2  Don’t Make It Easy
• 5  Samurai Warrior
• 6  Port More
• Don’t Make it Easy hasn’t been farther than five lengths from the winner in his last nine races, and looks to be well intended at the 7F distance. Samurai Warrior looked strong breaking his maiden last out and DJ is pretty good with repeaters. Port More has a win over the main, and didn’t look bad with higher priced horses on the inner. Have to give him consideration.

Race 5

• 4  Exclusive Zip
• 3  Captain Kitt
• 5  Psychic Energy
• Secondary (2, 8)
• Exclusive Zip came out running in his first start, moved up to MSW and ran into a couple of toughies in Long Haul Bay and Horrorscope. Both of those horses have come back to win and that flatters him. He’s got decent turf breeding. Captain Kitt has been struggling to get out of the maiden  ranks, and finally underwent the “ultimate equipment change.” He wasn’t much on the inner last out, but has shown better on the turf, including a third at AQU. Gets the weight break today. Psychic Energy steps up to the MSW for the crafty Linda Rice. He made a move forward last out and is fairly well bred for the turf.

Race 6

• 5  Can’tmakethisup
• 1  Augie’s Coming
• 3  Dan the Man
• Secondary (6, 8)
• Can’tmakethisup should enjoy the stretch out to the mile and should feel more comfortable at this price level. Still has plenty of space for improvement. Augie’s Coming makes a huge drop from $50K starter allowance down to a NW2L $16K claimer. Given how good he looked at the higher level, the drop might be negative, but he does have the top numbers and plenty of speed. Watch the board on this one. Dan the Man has been knocking at this level a while, but has gotten a piece in half his starts. May be useful in the verticals.

Race 7

• 3  Light in Paris
• 7  My Impression
• 1  Bishop’s Pond
• Secondary (2, 4)
• Light in Paris is graded stakes placed and goes for ace turf trainer Chad Brown. Consistently is competitive and should be very strong at this level. My Impression is another with graded stakes success and his last before the winter layoff was very impressive. Didn’t totally disgrace herself in the Hillsborough and should improve with the race under her belt. Bishop’s Pond is 20-1 on the ML and is making her first try with stakes company. Her figures are actually competitive.

Race 8

• 9  First Appeal
• 2  Tapceptional
• 8  Tough Old Bird
• This race is totally up in the air but I’m going with second time starter First Appeal. Her first start at Tampa wasn’t bad. She broke slowly, didn’t rush, and actually made up some ground in the stretch. I like that race and expect an improved effort today. Tapceptional goes first time for David Donk, and has a nice series of speed works. Should be able to get out and be a factor from the rail. Tough Old Bird drops from MSW down to claimers and has the top lifetime figure. Could be tough on the drop.

Race 9

• 4  War Bond
• 1  Buddy’s Tiz
• 2  Mascarello
• Secondary (6)
• War Bond is listed as odds-on on the ML off the price drop and his experience on the turf. He looks good, and has the best figures in the race by far. Buddy’s Tiz makes a big jump up in price, but he does have some good races on the turf. Worth a look at the odds. Mascarello had some nice turf races before moving to the AQU inner and returns to that surface today.