The Aspiring Horseplayer is quite fond of “big races” and this Friday at Delta Downs is no exception. The final 4 races on the card are part of an “All Stakes Pick 4.” We get a pretty big 2 year old filly event in the 5th running of the Boyd Gaming’s Delta Princess for $300k, and of course the feature event with the 5th running of the Grade 3 Boyd Gaming’s Delta Jackpot for $1,000,000. The Delta Jackpot features Z humor, who has raced behind the likes of top two year old War Pass and worthy competitors in Pyro and Kodiak Kowboy.
I think there are some very good betting opportunities in this series, especially for multi-race pick 4 players. The chalk horses do look tough to take down, but one or two of the top competitors getting home could really boost the value of the ticket quite easily.
All Stakes Pick 4 Ticket ($36)
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Race 5: 4, 6
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Race 6: 7, 8, 9
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Race 7: 6, 7
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Race 8: 2, 4, 6
Race 5: The Treasure Chest
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#6 Game for More (6/1)
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#4 Cool Wind (8/5*)
The fifth race on the card today and the first in the “All Stakes Pick 4″ sequence is the $75k Treasure Chest for fillies and mares 3 years old and upward going that ever tricky 7 furlongs on the bull-ring. #6 Game for More is the one that stood out to me here at 6/1 on the morning line. I like how she drew away in that last effort clearing the field by over 7 lengths. Additionally, she returns to Delta Downs where some of her best races in her career have been run. I see plenty of reasons to expect a strong performance today and made her my top choice. The favorite is #4 Cool Wind at 8/5 on the morning line odds. I think you have to use this one as well as the drop in from the G3 level last time out is the biggest move in the field. Picking up jockey Robbie Albarado doesn’t do anything but flatter this ones chances here. I’ll use both of these in the first leg of the pick 4 and feel fairly confident we can move forward with that coverage. #5 Mykindasaint is the speed here and may pose the biggest threat to our ticket right out of the gate in the opening leg of the pick 4. I’m just not flattered enough by the recent form at Zia and Churchill to include this one. I think she’ll get the lead, but I’m betting she’ll get caught.
Race 6: The $300k Boyd Gaming’s Delta Princess
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#9 Sky Mom (2/1*)
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#8 By the Light (6/1)
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#7 Lady on Holiday (6/1)
Today’s sixth race is the Delta Princess, for 2 year old fillies going 1 mile. As I handicapped this race, I didn’t really see anything I liked until I got to the final 4 horses. #9 Sky Mom is my top choice here dropping in from a G3 event last time out where she ran very competitively. She also boasts a win at today’s distance which I think is extremely crucial in separating this field. #7 Lady on Holiday can say the same, having conquered the mile distance at Churchill last time out. She retains the aforementioned Albarado. #8 By the Light is one that catches your eye with 3 consecutive impressive victories. In fact, she beat colts in her last race, which says a lot about her talent level. It’s almost inconceivable that we’re getting 6/1 on this one in the morning line odds.
Race 7: The Sam’s Town $75k
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#6 Jonesboro (8/5*)
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#7 Thunder Mission (9/5)
Today’s seventh race is the $75k Sam’s Town going 7 furlongs over the bull ring for 3 year olds and upward. Finally, we get some boys to handicap here! In all honesty this one looks like a two horse races between the two evenly matched favorites here. #6 Jonesboro looks to be the best to me and should be thrilled with the return to a dirt surface off of that last turf effort that you can obviously draw a line through. You’ve got to like the switch back to Calvin Borel as well. #7 Thunder Mission is the obvious threat here with Melancon aboard. He’s at least won at this distance before, which can be tricky for some young horses. It looks like he’ll need some pace to run at here, and while I fully expect Jonesboro to get the clear lead, I’m thinking there will still be sufficient pace for Thunder Mission to make a late move and have a chance to rally to the wire.
Race 8: The Boyd Gaming’s Delta Jackpot – Grade 3
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#4 Z Humor (5/2*)
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#2 Golden Yank (8/1)
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#6 Cave’s Valley (6/1)
The feature race on today’s card is the 5th running of the Boyd Gaming’s Delta Jackpot for 2 year olds, going 1 1/16 miles for a cool $1 million. We had some extra room on the ticket, so I hedged our bets a bit by going 3 deep here, even though I think Z Humor will be the winner here today. #4 Z Humor comes into this race having battled War Pass, the top 2 year old colt in the nation, in his last 2 races. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also faced Pyro and Kodiak Kowboy. What this horse needs is a chance without a monster in the field, and today is the day he gets it. He certainly hasn’t embarrassed himself against the best in the nation at the moment, and I think you could probably single here if you want to be especially frugal with your money. Just in case, and in the hopes of some extra value, we’ll add 2 other contenders to the ticket here. #2 Golden Yank is one that I could see getting a nice stalking trip in this event. The 8/1 odds is largely due to the perceived superiority of Z Humor, but looking at this horses first 3 efforts, it’s very difficult to conclude we have anything but a solid competitor here. One advantage this one has is experience, and winning experience at that, here at Delta Downs. That may payoff big time if he gets home on top tonight. #6 Cave’s Valley is another that appears to be in top form entering this race. He’s won at this distance and gets the always dangerous Ramon Dominguez aboard. A horse that it was painful to exclude from the ticket and deserves a long look in the post parade is #3 Overextended. The past performance lines don’t look quite as sexy on this one, but note that he’s been right behind Colonel John twice now. I think the world of Colonel John and he if were in this field he would no doubt be one of my top choices. That’s saying something when you consider how close Overextended has been. Ultimately though, I decided this was a tough fit for Doug O’Neill and Valenzuela to take on this field. If the race were in California I’d give them the edge, but as they are invaders here, I’ll side elsewhere.
Best of luck to you all and be sure not to miss today’s action!
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