So you were a $300 winner last week if you played the suggested superfecta wheel in my column for $1. (You made $60 if you played a 20-cent ticket.) Two other wagers – another superfecta and the pick-5 – were also suggested, but a scratched key horse eliminated them. The winning superfecta wheel on race 4 was 3,6,9/3,6,9/ALL/7. In fact, you could simply have played a $1 wheel of 3,6,9/3,6,9/3,6,9/7 without playing “all” at a cost of $6 to collect the $300. The race result was 9-3-6-7.
The learning component of the ticket was this: Longshot #7 (12-1) had a big Equibase pace figure in his previous race AND HAD TAKEN BLINKERS OFF so the presumption was that he would save his early energy for a late move and that’s exactly what happened. Add that to your “rule” arsenal if it isn’t already there.
By contrast, tomorrow’s early pick-5 races are the most challenging of the meet and there’s nothing within them that I feel really comfortable with. I like to handicap in a steaming bath and my skin was peeling off before I could come up with a $9.60 pick-5 ticket that has a remote shot of winning. It keys a 10-1 horse. Play it at your peril.
- RACE 2, bottom maiden claiming: The best rule horse, the one with the lowest added-up numbers (adding where the horse finished last time with his position at the first call of his previous race) is #4 Forest Woodsman (7-2). His added-up number is seven. What clinches this as a key is his recent workout in which he was third best out of 71 horses.
- RACE 3, $25,000 claimer: #7 Forest Buzz (10-1) is dropping back to his claiming price which was a race in which he ran against the off-the-pace bias. So he’s likely to try to win on the lead and we all know that dropping speed is a potent rule.
- RACE 4, optional claimer: This really is an “all” leg because speed numbers of all the horses are so close, but I’ve narrowed it down to two horses: #3 Hey Cue (6-1) and #4 Penner Ash (10-1). #3 simply showed exceptional gameness winning his last race which was nw2L. I love this: “Drew off when asked.” But I almost keyed #4 for the rule reason that he’s cutting back to a sprint after showing exceptional early pace in a route. Problem is, the horse is ADDING blinkers which means he’s not going to try to rally late, he’ll likely be all out to wire the field. Will he? Will the track be kind to early speed? That’s why I added #3 – as a possible closer.
- RACE 5, maiden optional claiming of two-year-old fillies at 7 furlongs: Now I’m going deep, taking the three horses that had decent 7-furlong speed figures (#7,9,10), #8 is dropping from maiden special weight, #4 (12-1) is a highly-regarded first-time starter of DRF Pro Pick specialists and #10 has the low added-up number of six.
- RACE 6, maiden allowance for two-year-old fillies: Yup, more two-year-olds to agonize over. #5 (7-2) and #6 (10-1) have the lowest added-up numbers in the race, #4 (3-1) is a first-time starter ridden by high-percentage jockey Rafael Hernandez and #2 (4-1) had been bet down to 4-1 in her first lifetime start and is the best bet of the day of DRF Pro Pick specialist Pete Shewchuk.
So here’s your take-a-shot pick-5 20-cent wheel: 4/7/3,4/4,7,8,9,10,12/2 4 5 6 (1 x 1 x 2 x 6 x 4 = 48 divided by 5 = $9.60. Remember you can pick and choose to play your preference, whether it’s a double, a pick-3 or maybe a superfecta box of all horses in one of the legs.
If that pick-5 ticket wins, I’ll become an insufferable braggard – so you probably don’t want that to happen. Unless you win it, too, and can join in the bragging. LOL.
~ by Ivan Bigg
