Race 1: LOCK IT DOWN has a lot going in her favor for her career debut. Three bullet workouts, Berndt strikes at 24% with first-time starters and jockey Hamilton is aggressive early. SHEZONEZESTREET was bet down to 9/5 in debut and Bravo is 21% in second start. Eikleberry retains the mount and should improve with experience. ANNIE M is well-bred to win early as her sire has produced many first-time winners, however, dam suggest she may like two-turns on the turf.
Race 2: GOLDEN GOPHER has the speed to control the pace and moves to an outside post after three tries inside. Jockey change to Hamilton should accentuate early speed. CANTERBURY GOLD has speed but has been backing up in the lane recently. The Quinonez/Padilla combo deserves respect. ANNIE’S SHENANIGAN takes the blinkers off, gets Wade aboard and might have a hot pace to close into.
Race 3: BAYOU COLONEL showed speed and tired on the turf in career debut and then posted a very quick bullet workout July 21. VEGAS GUY adds blinkers and the only time he finished strongly was when he wore them in his career debut. Has been odds-on in three of four races and is still a maiden. JEEPSTER improved speed figure-wise from first start to second start. Need to continue that ascension.
Race 4: SUNDANCE STAR might appreciate the added distance and should be able to get an easy lead early. They’ll need to catch her. WITHHERBOOTSON has improved since switching to the turf going two-turns but is that improvement due to the footing or the distance? Lack of early speed a detriment. FIREMAN’S LIL SIS closed nicely in last but is pace dependent and there just isn’t much speed here.
Race 5: JOHAN ZOFFANI was rained off the turf last time out but returns to his preferred surface today. Second start since being transferred to the Diodoro barn. DOODLE TIME is almost always in the mix down the stretch but doesn’t close the deal very often. Most overcome tough outside post. WHERE’D THE DAY GO could be loose on the lead and if he’s able to establish a slow pace, he could be there at the end.
Race 6: LOVE THE NEST wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret in his first start as he was odds-on. Unfortunately, he was unprepared at the start and had to play catch-up the entire race but was over five lengths clear of third. HUNTER JUMPER is a well-bred firster for the Robertson barn and they’re always dangerous with babies this time of year. THAT’S NOT FUNNY is the “other” Berndt and is bred to be precocious and could fire first-out.
Race 7: GIVEITSOMEWELLIE moves to the Rengstorf barn after being claimed last out. Established ridiculously fast fractions in that race so she’ll need to relax today. EVERYBODY DOES IT gets back to the lawn after a lackluster performance last out on the dirt. Good post for her running style and Eikleberry is aboard. LILA’S LUCKY LADY drops in class and gets back to her preferred surface after a failed dirt attempt.
Race 8: WESTONS WILDCAT challenged for the lead three-wide in last and was still fighting to the wire. If he can relax and sit off the early leaders, he may be able to wear them down late. PRINCE RAMA ran a field best speed figure in his last race with an uncontested lead. Will be pressured up front today. JOHNNY UP was involved in a four-horse speed duel last out before pulling away. Not sure what he beat that day.
Race 9: BAYOU GEM stumbled badly at the start in his last race and lost all chance trying to navigate through a large field. Gets outside post and needs to break alertly. EXCURSION broke his maiden easily in last with a high-speed figure. A repeat performance for top connections could be the recipe for success. HPNOTIQ RHYTHM had an impressive seasonal debut at Canterbury winning by a couple of lengths but question the layoff since that win.
Race 10: ROVERTON drops to the bottom level after facing special weights for most of his career. Has enough speed to be prominent early and may not stop against softer today. RUBY’S RED DEVIL also drops from special weights but lacks speed and will need the pace to collapse. ME AND ROSE woke up in last with Canchari but has been beaten by some of these by many lengths.
Race 11: FREDDY SEPARATE has improved with each start of his three-year-old season. Another step forward and he’ll graduate today. EARLY BYRD didn’t show much in debut but was bet down and Olmstead newbies tend to need a couple of races. XF PAINTED HERO has been close in a couple of local starts and Hardy is a Hall of Famer for a reason.
Race 12: EC ANTE UP has been in some tough races and seems to be rounding into form for his Canterbury debut. CHICKSFABULOUSCORONA raced well in seasonal debut after a long layoff. Should improve second off the shelf. JESS AN IVORY TOWER has only raced three times and just broke her maiden so has plenty of upside.
