Gulfstream Loaded with Sophomore Talent Saturday
- Who: Thoroughbreds – Dancinginherdreams, Travelin Man, Leave of Absence, Gourmet Dinner, Casper’s Touch, To Honor and Serve
- What: Horse Racing Betting Tips – The Davona Dale, The Hutcheson, The Fountain of Youth
- Where: Gulfstream Park
- When: Saturday, February 26th
Three-year-olds of both sexes take center stage at Gulfstream Park this Saturday. Fillies lead off in the Grade 2 Davona Dale (Race 8), followed by the Grade 2 Hutcheson (Race 9) and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth (Race 10), both of which are open to horses of either sex. This should make for an interesting Stakes Pick 3, which we’ll try to hit.
In The Davona Dale, Todd Pletcher trainee #5-R Heat Lightning may offer some value, off her troubled 4th-place finish last out in The Forward Gal. She’s trained sharply in the interim. #9-Dancinginherdreams will be favored, but may offer a square price nonetheless, due to her modest Beyer Speed Figures. She’ll relish the extra furlong of the Davona Dale. I’ll throw #8-Pomeroys Pistol into the mix off her Forward Gal win, on the chance that she may steal off to an easy lead. The unbeaten Oh Carole will take some action, but I’ll leave her out in favor of the more accomplished closer, Dancinginherdreams.
The Hutcheson is loaded with quality speed, so the trick here is to project which of the front-runners will be comfortable stalking or pressing the expected hot pace. Crossbow will be under the gun from the rail, which could hinder his chances. Flashpoint will be facing much tougher here than he faced in his Aqueduct Inner Dirt debut. #3-Travelin Man will be favored off his impressive career bow over the local strip, in which he earned a monstrous Beyer of 106. In that race, he sat comfortably in second in the early going, and came home powerfully. He drops six pounds off that effort, and will be tough if he can relax early. I’m intrigued by #7-Leave of Absence (12-1 morning line). He ran well to be second in The Spectacular Bid off a two-month break, and had a legitimate excuse last out in The Holy Bull. He gets blinkers for the first time, which is a positive move for trainer Rick Violette’s runners ($2.66 ROI). Leave of Absence turned in a bullet work on Tuesday (:47 2/5 Breezing at Palm Meadows) in preparation for this engagement. He could make this Pick 3 a score!
The Fountain of Youth is loaded with talent, as well as question marks. Can #1-Soldat duplicate his latest effort on a fast track? Can #4-Casper’s Touch, #5-Bowman’s Causeway and #8-Shackleford raise their respective games to the next level? Is #7-To Honor and Serve ready to win off a three-month freshening? #2-Gourmet Dinner has won more money than the rest of the field combined, so I’ll use him. I think the answers to the questions above are “yes” to #1, #4, and #5, and “no” to #7 and #8. My Stakes Pick 3 ticket looks like this: 5,8,9/3,7/1,2,4,5. A $1 ticket will cost $24 (3 X 2 X 4 X $1 = $24).
Those are my horse racing betting tips for the weekend. Best of luck and happy gambling!
