Fueled by 45-1 winner Shanghai Mist at Golden Gate, one bettor correctly picked all five winners in last week's Stronach 5, taking home $99,519. Will history repeat itself in this Friday's Stronach 5 that spans five races at three tracks in less than an hour? Join the excitement for as little as a $1 wager, or play multiple combinations to increase your chances. Here's an early look at this week's sequence, with an update to follow Saturday after scratches:
LEG A (Laurel Park, 7th race, 3:34 EST): GALE WINDS gained after a bumpy start two back in allowance company but raced evenly in a fast-paced follow-up try on the grass. MUTAKAAMIL plunged to the bottom level and defeated four rivals at 1-to-9 odds for his first win in 20 attempts, now he starts for high-percentage new connections. DREAMING OF CARATS showed good zip in his last two starts, a point magnified in a field that is a combined 5-for-89 on the main track. The connections see something they like in DAPER'S DRINK, a lightly-raced 5-year-old with a 1-23 record this year, so use him at 12-1 off the claim.
LEG B (Gulfstream Park, 8th race, 3:53 EST): GITANA, first or second in 9 of 17 starts, chased odds-on repeater Bramble Berry (8-22, $216k) through a :45.2 half mile on a day when the track played very slow. He bid 3-wide at the top of the stretch but settled for second best in the long sprint. He is today's solo play on the cutback to 6F.
LEG C (Laurel Park, 8th race, 4:02 EST): POWERFUL ALLY summoned his back class and blazed through the claiming ranks at Parx after a 14-month layoff, winning three times by a combined 12-1/2 lengths and holding second in a long sprint two back. AMEN CORNER packs late kick, should get a lively pace flow and offers good value at 8-1. HIS NAME IS SUE is a model of ultra consistency for a barn that keeps them sharp, but he offers little value, having been dismissed as a prohibitive favorite in 8 of his last 10 starts.
LEG D (Golden Gate, 2nd race, 4:18 EST): Battle of Memphis broke slowly and rallied 4-wide to win off a seven-month layoff, but he has raced exclusively on turf, caught a 3-for-49 rival and is 7-to-5 on the morning line. HARBOR KITTY rallied 4-wide and came up a neck short in his bid for three consecutive photo-finish victories on the Golden Gate main track. FLICFLAT is usable at 8-1 after he rallied for third as the favorite and second in a race dominated by closers the last two times at 6 furlongs.
LEG E (Gulfstream Park, 9th race, 4:23 EST): Good recent form abounds in this route race as 8 of 9 fillies go postward with $44,000-plus in earnings. We'll go six deep in Leg E on the ticket in hopes that it is still alive.
Stronach 5 Ticket
Leg A: 1, 2, 7, 9
Leg B: 5
Leg C: 1, 5
Leg D: 1, 3, 7
Leg E: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
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