The $400,000 Penn Mile will be the anchor leg of an all-turf stakes Pick 4 this Friday, May 31 at Penn National. All four legs of the sequence drew double-digit entries, carry six-figure purses and will be contested going a route of ground. Here’s a closer look and a suggested Pick 4 play:
PEN 3rd race (6:00 p.m. EST) -- IN A SPIN, third in last year’s $100,000 Lyphard behind the 1-to-9 favorite, ran second to recent Grade 3 winner Neecie Marie (4-7 on turf, $330k) in a follow-up stakes try against Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares last fall. ON THE SHORTLIST posted front-end wins from posts 7, 8 and 9 on firm, good and yielding footing last year, now draws post 10 for her seasonal debut. DREAM CHASER is a viable longshot at 8-1 in her first try on turf. She showed steady improvement as a 3-year-old last year, winning twice and finishing a troubled third behind Grade 2-placed Headland (11-44, $754k) and Grade 3 winner Apple Picker (5-14, $401k). She gained in the stretch on the top two finishers in a useful comeback sprint. PRINCESS JAVONCIA, a proven turf miler but 0-for-5 at this distance, projects an ideal stalking trip in her second start since January. She pressed the pace and finished behind three next-out winners two starts back at Tampa Bay Downs, unable to break Paper Mansion’s (11-44, $230k) string of five consecutive wire-to-wire victories on the lawn.
PEN 4th race (6:35 p.m. EST) -- A WESTERN YARN chased slow fractions and ‘dug in’ to finish second when last seen in a September turf allowance, but he can make good use of his speed in this spot from the rail and get the jump on most of his main rivals. The horse he chased, Great King, posted 91 and 93 Beyers in allowance company at Santa Anita in two starts on firm footing this year. Local star FIERCE AND STRONG should lead for as far as he goes off a sharp comeback sprint victory that improved his record to 4-for-5 on the Penn National lawn. He gets the class test today. JOHN DUTTON rallied into photo-finish view in two turf allowances last year but was no threat in a deep allowance field last out at Keeneland. He lures Prat to ride and should be on the ticket. FLETCHER, third in last year’s Penn Mile at 98-1, opts for the $100,000 With Anticipation against state-breds this year. He worked forwardly for his scheduled seasonal debut on turf and won on the front end after the race was switched to the main track. MARKET MAVEN, disqualified from victory in last fall’s Maryland Million Classic, has never run on turf, but he ran two of his best races for this barn and must be respected at a price.
PEN 5th race (7:10 p.m. EST) -- POUNCE broke outward from this post and never recovered as the favorite in the Grade 2 Appalachian on soft turf at Keeneland, but she merits a second look off her win in the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park in the race prior. She took back from the outside post, trailed into the far turn, advanced between runners and surged past the two trip-sitting favorites to prevail. She is our top choice in the $150,000 Penn Oaks but by no means a solo play. PINK POLKADOTS posted a pair of easy wire-to-wire victories on firm turf to start her career and the Friday weather forecast should suit her well. NICE AS PIE rallied from 11th to get beat 2-3/4 lengths in a tune-up 5-1/2F turf sprint after she won her previous four starts on Turfway Park’s synthetic surface by a combined 16-1/2 lengths. NEOM BEACH shook a duel at the top of the stretch and went down fighting against the co-favorite in a one-mile stakes at Oaklawn Park. The daughter of multimillionaire turf router Giant’s Causeway returns to the lawn for the first time since her debut 10 months ago. Her dam’s offspring are 11/3-2-1 going long on the grass.
PEN 6th race (7:45 p.m. EST) -- TRIKARI sprung a 47-1 shocker in the Grade 2 American Turf on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs, repelling a stretch challenge by favorite Legend of Time – a Grade 2 winner at Aqueduct last Friday – and surging clear in the final sixteenth. He moves from the inside to the outside, seeking a stakes three-peat with jockey Umberto Rispoli in the featured Penn Mile. FIRST WORLD WAR was entered in the $150,000 Ceasar’s Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis May 15 but shows up here after heavy rains wiped out the card. He led between calls late but got beat in a photo-finish in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes three starts back, prevailed from up-close in the Grade 3 Kitten’s Joy at Gulfstream while defeating recent stakes victor FREEDOM PRINCIPLE (#8 today) and several others who earned their top speed figure, then failed to factor on soft footing in the Grade 3 Transylvania at Keeneland.
Suggested 50-Cent Ticket
PEN 3rd Race: 2, 5, 8, 10
PEN 4th Race: 1, 3, 5, 6, 11
PEN 5th Race: 4, 6, 9, 10
PEN 6th Race: 4, 10
Cost for 50-cent ticket: $80
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