#6, a filly first-time starter in race 5 at Woodbine tomorrow, leaves no doubt about her intentions. “I Love to Win” is her name. Of course, that makes her a hunch play if there ever was one. Perhaps giving the hunch even more strength is the fact that exactly 20 years ago this month, the only other horse to race under that exact name won her maiden race at Hollywood Park. The morning line on I Love to Win is 6-1 and her connections are impeccable: Sahin Civaci (26 per cent wins) is riding and William Therrenos (23 per cent) is the trainer.

All of which brings up the subject of hunch plays — for which there are no “rules ”— but for which most horseplayers have some pleasant memory. My favourite goes back eons to my teen years riding a crowded bus to Assiniboia Downs, looking out the front window and seeing a car with the eye-catching licence plate: 1P1. Of course, I bet $4 in the first race on post position #1. The horse’s odds were 46-1. #1 went to the lead and the horse chasing him stumbled and fell, wiping out the rest of the field. So, yes, that’s a hunch play memory I’ll take to my grave.

So will you add her to the fourth leg of the pick-5 (that starts in race 2) and/or the first leg of the Power Pick 6? Will she live up to her name? Hey, according to DRF debut reports, back in 2022 her daddy, Signature Red, had three debut winners out of eight starters. That’s 38 per cent. Huge! And she was 12th fastest out of 115 horses who worked out on Wednesday.

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