$100,000 THIRTY EIGHT GO GO STAKES AT LAUREL
The Lead:
Laurel Park boasts a trio of $100,000 stakes in succession on its Saturday card, topped by the Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes for fillies and mares on the dirt. The tri-features go as Races 6-8 on the card and include the juveniles and juvenile fillies spotlighted in the James F. Lewis III Stakes and the Smart Halo. Favorites are 8-21 in the stakes at the meet, winning at a respectable rate, but note 7 of the favorites finished completely out of the money.
Field Depth:
G1-placed OFF TOPIC faced elites in 2019, while more recent stakes winners in this line-up include MISS LESLIE, JOSIE, TROLLEY RIDE and ARTFUL SPLATTER. Six of these 9 matched up in September's Twixt Stakes locally, so there's not a wide gap between them in terms of class.
Pace:
Anytime you have the far inside horse (SOSUA) and far outside horse (ARTFUL SPLATTER) as early speed contenders, the pace is almost assuredly going to be fast. Their need to hustle at Laurel is amplified with a very short run to the first turn at 1-1/16 miles over this 1-1/8 miles oval. Add in further pace pressure from SCATRATTLENROLL and JOSIE, and this race will be difficult to win on the front end.
Our Eyes:
The Twixt Stakes was at the 1-turn mile distance and a completely different animal than this 2-turn, 1-1/16 miles event. So it's wise for horseplayers to not over-rate the importance of that event in this 6-way re-match. Focus more on how these horses have performed around 2 turns.
MISS LESLIE comes off a Delaware allowance score around 2 turns and was a stakes winner last year at age 2 over this track and distance in the Anne Arundel County Stakes. She was a rallying fourth in the Twixt and probably will appreciate the 2 turns here better than anyone. Top local trainer Claudio Gonzalez slumped last week at 1-15 locally, but we'll see how his charges perk up Friday and on the Saturday undercard. He tends not to stay cold very long here. Her Delaware Park pursuer TROLLEY RIDE also was second in the Caesar's Wish at Pimlico this summer around 2 turns and fits well against this group.
Trainer Arnaud Delacour won this race last year with Eres Tu ($11) and looks for a repeat via SOSUE. While this is the only horse in the race never to have run on the Laurel dirt, note sire Speightstown is a solid 17% local winner with his offspring and 20% in route races. SOSUA will have to battle on the lead with ARTFUL SPLATTER et al, but does have an edge with the rail post draw. She'll take them as far as she can, but the projection here is she'll come up short in the lane. SOSUA will be one of the few fresh faces not back from the Twixt.
ARTFUL SPLATTER needs a fast dirt track to do her best work. Her past performance lines look inconsistent, but her bad races have piled up on turf and wet tracks. Friday rain is in the forecast, but Saturday appears to be dry at this point. Keep an eye on the sky. Wet or dry, however, the outside post and extra pace heat in the starting gate from 2-3 rivals will present challenges.
Trainer Mike Trombetta, who won 3 races at Laurel last week and finished second in this race last year with beaten favorite Lucky Stride, will look to make amends with both VILLANELLE and LOOKIN DYNAMIC. The former not only was well beaten in the Twixt, but outrun at Delaware around 2 turns behind Thirty Eight Go Go repeat rivals MISS LESLIE and TROLLEY RIDE. Trombetta's better shot is with LOOKIN DYNAMIC who has run well at Laurel mostly around 1 turn, but did win a 2-turn allowance this summer at Pimlico.
On paper, SCATRATTLENROLL and JOSIE figure to get similar, pressing trips and both will be strapped with the difficult task of both chasing and finishing. The former's jockey Mychel Sanchez has been outstanding at the meet in these 1-1/16 miles dirt races (5: 2-1-1 with $14 & $19 winners). The latter is trained by Steve Asmussen, whose vast outfit has raided to win 2 stakes at the current meet. Jockey Feargal Lynch has piloted 3 stakes winners at the meet. So while the trips could be tricky for both of these contenders, they are in the right hands.
OFF TOPIC simply has gone off form since her promising 3-year-old campaign. She'll make her second start since moving from Todd Pletcher to Phil Schoenthal and must improve greatly off her return in the Twixt off the 11-month absence. She's too tricky to read properly and trust; make her beat you.
Most Certain Exotics Contender:
MISS LESLIE is in good form and proven over the track and distance.
Best Longshot Exotics Contender:
TROLLEY RIDE likely will be let go at a mid-range price and stands a great shot here.
Sending it in ($100 bankroll):
$70 win MISS LESLIE. $10 exacta part-wheel MISS LESLIE over TROLLEY RIDE, JOSIE and SOSUA ($30).
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