Chantilly Nayla is Horse for Course in Raven Run
- Who: Thoroughbreds – Chantilly Nayla, Beautician, Kitty in a Tizzy, Negligee, Hilda’s Passion, My Irish Girl
- What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Raven Run
- Where: Keeneland
- When: Saturday, October 22nd
Saturday’s Grade 2 Raven Run at Keeneland has attracted a wide-open field of 14 sophomore fillies with fairly modest accomplishments. In circumstances like this, it’s imperative that you demand value. That’s where Chantilly Nayla comes in.
Chantilly Nayla might not jump off the page at first glance, but her list of merits is indeed lengthy. She enters this contest off a 2 ½-month freshening, and seems to do just fine off the bench. She won her career debut, and captured the Mardi Gras at Fair Grounds off a 2 ½-month break. There’s plenty of speed in this affair, with Platinum Exchange, Tremendamente Loca, Hilda’s Passion and Decelerator all capable of carving out fast fractions. That should set things up nicely for a mid-pack runner like Chantilly Nayla. You’ll also note that she’s best suited for this elongated sprint distance, and turned in two of her best performances on Keeneland’s main track. It certainly looks like her training picked up when she was moved from Arlington Park to Keeneland a few weeks back. Robbie Albarado will ride Chantilly Nayla for the first time in The Raven Run, and he’s had plenty of success locally with trainer Wayne Catalano, posting 29% wins and a positive ROI of $2.04. Chantilly Nayla was second-best behind Fanny Freud in the Grade 2 Beaumont here last April, and should improve upon that performance in The Raven Run. I’ll bet on her to win and place at odds of 8-1 or better.
As for some of the other contenders, morning line favorite Beautician (4-1) doesn’t get the pulse pounding with a lone second in four tries on synthetic surfaces. Negilgee (6-1) owns a Grade 1 win here as a juvenile, but hasn’t won since. Kitty in a Tizzy (8-1) looks interesting, but has yet to race at Keeneland. The Todd Pletcher-trained Hilda’s Passion (8-1) owns the top last-race Beyer Speed Figure (99), but that came in the Saratoga slop. My Irish Girl (10-1) has won seven straight, but will be making her debut on synthetics. If you’re looking at exotics, I’d recommend keying Chantilly Nayla first and second, and using several horses with her…the payoffs could be astronomical!
Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!
