The Run For the Roses is Saturday, but if you want to make a run at building your bankroll, consider playing the Laurel Park Late Pick 4 on Friday, May 3. Last Fridays Pick 4 paid $1,222 for a 50-cent wager with no winning favorites, followed by a Saturday blockbuster payout of $10,380.
LRL 7th race (3:31 p.m. EST) -- COACH CALEY debuts for the high percentage Brittany Russell barn off a 1:02 workout from the gate. She is by multiple Group 1 winner Mastercraftsman (7-12, $1.49 million), whose offspring are 147/28-18-19 in turf routes. QUEEN OF THE DANCE rallied to finish second in 4 of her last 5 starts at shorter distances and will try to enhance trainer Michael Stidham’s 5-for-17 streak with the synthetic track-to-turf angle. DARK POOL dueled and held third in a comeback turf-to-dirt marathon and should benefit from that race on the switch back to the lawn. She broke awkwardly in a MSW route at Aqueduct, awaited room while saving ground on the far turn and finished okay behind the two favorites, who both came back to win with upper-80 Beyer speed figures.
LRL 8th race (4:02 p.m. EST) -- KILO ROAD shook a duel with the 5-to-2 second favorite but couldn’t hold off a pair of rallying first-time starters in MSW company. He finished 3 lengths ahead of GETTOTHSTORYIMDONE, who rallied mildly while 4-wide and could benefit from the added ground. SPIRIT AND TRUTH turned heads with a :47-1/5 bullet work at Laurel Park last Sunday for trainer Phillip Capuano, who is 6-18 with first-time starters and 14-51 with maiden claimers.
LRL 9th race (4:33 p.m. EST) -- A NEW PEACE figures tough if she duplicates her last turf sprint in January at Santa Anita. She overcame major trouble, got beat a nose by odds-on favorite Teen Drama, -- who came back to repeat for $32,000 -- and finished ahead of three other next-out winners. If she doesn’t win, it’s anybody’s race, so with room to spare on the Pick 4 ticket, I’ll go three deep. OUR STRONG VOWS, a two-time photo finish winner at 5-1/2F on the Laurel Park lawn, rallied for minor awards twice when last seen in the fall. Those efforts by the $114k turf earner are better than they appear, considering Paper Mansion won her next five races in wire-to-wire fashion and Shasta Star was in the midst of a 7-for-9 streak on turf. SISTER SUPREAM ran a good one off the Ness claim, sprinting clear at 6F on the main track before the co-favorite caught her late. She’s coupled with also-eligible SIX O’CLOCK SARAH (7-21, $206K), forming a solid 1-2 punch at 8-1 if they both run.
LRL 10th race (5:05 p.m. EST) -- SELASSIE’s company lines stand out in this maiden claiming route. He was in good stalking position in his last two starts, but gave way to a fast pace, next-out Maiden Special Weight winner Curlin’s Kitten and recent $16,000/nw2 runner-up This Dude A Breeze two back. Then he tired against low-70 Beyer types Flat Top Box and One Bite. Expect a contending effort at a tempting price in his first start on conventional dirt. CORONATION TIME gets in light and gets plenty of pace to run at in his longest race to date. His ‘head was turning when the gate sprung’ last out and he lacked kick while 5-wide at one mile. CAVENDISH is the one to beat on the class drop after he bid on the turn to vie for command before fading in a higher-tagged route on a sloppy track.
Suggested 50-Cent Ticket
LRL 7th Race: 5, 6, 8
LRL 8th Race: 3, 4, 6
LRL 9th Race: 1, 2, 9
LRL 10th Race: 4, 5, 8
Cost for 50-cent ticket: $40.50
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