A 42-to-1 leadoff winner on New Year’s Day stumped Pick 5 players at Laurel Park, the main reason the 50-cent wager will feature a $9,877 carry-over pool on this Friday’s card. Here’s a look at the action:
LRL 5th race (2:22 EST) -- Trainer Kieron Magee should have a big say in this race with class-dropping claim DULCE KIARA coming out of a ‘key’ race on the inside and morning-line favorite MY BOSS LADY on the outside. FORTES rushed up after a bumpy start and finished third behind a pair of sub 2-to-1 rivals two starts back, then was outrun when finishing behind the aforementioned Dulce Kiara and winner Stay Out (6-33, $148k) in her most recent start. She wears blinkers for the first time and is a good value play.
LRL 6th race (2:51 EST) -- Navigating this 12-horse allowance could be the key to solving the Pick 5 puzzle. ELUSIVE AGENT, a late-running sprinter, stretches out in distance in a speed-laden field. He got up for second behind John The Bear (3-6, $90k in 2022) and his sire, Blofeld, was a multiple Grade II winner at one mile. JARDANI won 3 of 7 on the main track last year despite a bad, slow-starting habit. He, too, gets the right set-up at the right price. GALLANT GOLD finished a distant second to recently stakes-placed One Ten (4-20, $168k) in his last two starts at the distance. NOSTALGIC RUN, the morning-line favorite, held clear stretch leads in four consecutive longer route races, only to drift in the stretch each time and hold on for only one victory. ICY MINISTER makes the ticket at 30-1 on the switch to a barn that has 19-percent winners and a positive return on investment over the last three years.
LRL 7th race (3:21 EST) -- PARADISE PRIDE changed tactics, engaged in a suicide duel to the far turn and tired badly after his stablemate passed by for the win. He can top $100,000 in Laurel Park earnings with a victory and has a capable running-mate in MYSTIC LINK (11-49, $212k). NO MORE TALK, still going strong at age 9, should sit an ideal trip at a proven distance off an easy victory and a re-claim by trainer Ferris Allen III.
LRL 8th race (3:51 EST) -- SUPREME LAW bulled his way between rivals at the top of the stretch and drew off to an impressive debut victory, then he set a fast and pressured pace in allowance company and battled back gamely when passed by the winner. Like him as today’s solo play on the cutback to 5-1/2F.
LRL 9th race (4:21 EST) – DROPKICK QUEEN raced evenly behind the runaway odds-on favorite and recently stakes-placed Awesome Pic two starts ago at 7F, then left too much work to do while finishing with interest at 6F. She gets Lasix today and projects a good stalking trip from the outside with a better break. GOLDEN NERVE broke her maiden when last seen five months ago against Quantico Creek, who came back to finish second in a stakes race. Her limited workouts are solid and so is the barn.
Suggested 50-cent Ticket
LRL 5th race: 1, 2, 11
LRL 6th Race: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9
LRL 7th Race: 1, 5
LRL 8th Race: 2
LRL 9th Race: 8, 9
COST: $30
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