Laurel Park’s Late Pick 4 was plagued by short fields last week, but this week’s sequence looms much more difficult with a pair of full fields as part of the 50-cent wager. Here’s a look at the action:
LRL 6th race (3:10 EST) -- Go deep in the opening leg of the sequence and keep an eye on the odds for several first-time starters. LADY WHISTLEDOWN and LOVING CUP are working forwardly and both are sired by 15-percent turf sprint sire Kantharos. GIFT OF GAB might need more ground, but her dam was 18/6-3-5 and a $100,000 earner on the grass. DIVINE FASHION can’t be discounted but reliable trainer Michael Trombetta, surprisingly, is 1-47 with first-time starters on turf in the last three years. Of those that have run, WINKED – whose dam was a multiple stakes winner on turf – held second after she lost the lead at the top of the stretch in a race that produced a winner and two runners-up from the last four finishers. WALKS LIKE A LADY set the pace in a one-mile MSW race despite a bumpy start when last seen in the winter, but the runners that finished ahead of her are a combined 32/1-1-8 since then. FASHIONISTA lacked speed, got up to finish third and will appreciate the extra half-furlong today.
LRL 7th race (3:41 EST) -- COVERT CAT rallied 3-wide off a contested pace battle to finish second behind the slow-starting, 3-to-5 favorite in a solid debut at Monmouth. FRIGHTLAND lost several lengths when he stumbled early, advanced into contention under a hard drive but settled for third after he steadied between the top pair in late stretch. GRAND MANNER led from the start to the top of the stretch but had no breathers in one-mile maiden claimer on the turf. He worked 5F in 1:01.2 since then and is worth using at 6-1 on the morning line.
LRL 8th race (4:14 EST) -- PRINCE PERI averaged a 74 Beyer speed figure while finishing in the money in 3 of his last 4 starts sprinting on the turf. He finished a willing third in a 5F allowance last out that produced two solid next-out winners. JUSTWAVEANDSMILE rallied to win three consecutive 5-1/2F grass sprints when last seen at Laurel Park in the fall, the latest of which yielded three follow-up winners. SUE LOVES BARBADOS returns from a seven-month layoff and starts outside post 6 for the first time in his career, but he showed late foot in her turf sprints and could factor in this suspect field. DATHOSS makes the Pick 4 ticket at 30-1 after he chased fractions faster than a same-day turf stakes race and makes his second start after 45 days away for a barn that excels with that angle. AL LOVES JOSIE tries to carry-over his main-track form to the turf, but his sire’s offspring are 0-for-20 on the lawn and his dam was well-beaten in both grass tries, so try to beat the morning-line favorite.
LRL 9th race (4:47 EST) -- THE CAIRO KID set a faster pace than a 5F allowance earlier on the card and got caught by repeat winner Jimmy The Kid en route to his fourth runner-up finish in a row. SILENT SERVICE drops to his level of claim, where he romped going a route of ground.
Suggested 50-cent Ticket
LRL 6th Race: 2, 3, 4, 9, 12
LRL 7th Race: 1, 6, 7
LRL 8th Race: 5, 9, 12, 13
LRL 9th Race: 5, 6
COST: $60
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