Betting on the Breeders' Cup isn’t the only way to possibly strike it rich this Friday. Gulfstream Park’s Late Pick 5 also features large, competitive fields – and a $48,216 carryover pool for he 50-cent wager. Here’s a look at the action with a suggested play:
GP 5th race (2:48 P.M. EST) -- ILLTAKETHEBLAME, a $700,000 sales buy, will carry my Pick 5 hopes as a solo play in his debut for Pletcher. His dam, Petunia Face, was unraced, but her siblings are 31-for-87 overall and 8-for-12 as 2-year-olds, thanks largely to Grade 1-placed Jalen Journey (12-42, $752k) and Derek Adrian (12-for-16), a multiple graded stakes winner in Puerto Rico. If ILLTAKETHEBLAME is scratched, replace her with PURE CLASS (#4).
GP 6th race (3:19 P.M. EST) -- DIVINE CONNECTION equaled the top speed figure of her career off the Joseph claim despite racing extremely wide into a fast pace at 7F. She finished second to Pacific Princess, who extended her winning streak to three next out. KAEKO got out badly at the top of the stretch after she drew even with the pace setter, but she corrected herself in time to win and eclipse $100,000 in Gulfstream Park earnings. She picks up 8 pounds with Camacho getting the call for the 24-percent off-the-claim D’Angelo barn. OLGA stalked the pace 5-wide, got floated to the 7-path and led between calls late in her most recent 6F start.
GP 7th race (3:47 P.M. EST) -- MWARI ran second to the even-money favorite in a four-horse field despite drifting in the lane. He switches from the dirt to the synthetic track for Edward Plesa Jr., who has three wins and three seconds from his last eight second-time starters – all but one at 2-1 odds or less. But with shippers from Churchill Downs, Aqueduct, Fair Grounds and Presque Isle Downs arriving for the 1-3/16-mile test, go deep in this leg of the sequence.
GP 8th race (4:18 P.M. EST) -- COCO, won 3 of 4 route races on the synthetic track by a combined 14-3/4 lengths before she finished out of the money as the favorite in the Miss Gracie Stakes. TIME PASSAGE seized the moment in the Miss Gracie with her third consecutive wire-to-wire victory going a route of ground. Longshot WRTIIENINTHESTARS returns to town in much-improved form than when she left for Belterra Park in Cincinnati. She broke her maiden on turf off a three-month layoff and would have upset the 2-to-5 winner next out if not for a nightmarish trip until she swung widest and closed furiously in the stretch.
GP 9th race (4:45 P.M. EST) -- MEGAN MAKIN MONEY led at the stretch call in 7 of her last 10 starts, now runs for the cheapest price of her career for a sharp claim barn. If she doesn’t live up to favoritism, BREAKING BULLET could capitalize in a speed-laden field in her 14th try on the synthetic surface. ROMASHKA was disqualified from a win at this level two back, ran second to the favorite next-out and looms a danger for her new connections.
Suggested 50-Cent Ticket
GP 5th Race: 6
GP 6th Race: 1,4, 5
GP 7th Race: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8
GP 8th Race: 1, 5, 7
GP 9th Race: 6, 9, 10
Cost: $91.50
.svg){kind=logo}
