It's been warmer here in the Northeast the past few days, and while it's still winter, the sunshine and the more pleasant temperatures have got us thinking of spring, of rapidly-developing three-year-olds, sunshine, grass racing, and the end of the winter doldrums. And what says spring more than a dozen Thoroughbreds in full flight, preferably with the one you picked making a charge on the outside?
With that in mind, we will head to Sam Houston Race Park in Texas, where there's a good midweek Thoroughbred card with some interesting and bettable races.
Race 2 (post time 1:50 pm Eastern) is a $10,000 claiming sprint for older horses at 6 furlongs on the main track. There are two horses here who look better than the rest, the 1-Lookiecookie (7/5 morning line) and 5-Get the Bling (9/5). They have similar speed figures, but we like the No. 1: He has more tactical early speed than the 5, and we think that will make the difference today. We will bet $15 to win on Lookiecookie.
The 5th (post time 3:20 pm Eastern) is a mile on the grass for three-year-olds, $50,000 maiden claimers. We like a horse at a big price here: 3-Mister Strange is 20-1 on the morning line, and a cursory look at his race record would justify that: he finished dead last in a maiden race at Remington Park in October. On that basis, he'd be a throw-out. But there are several signs that we like: out of English Channel and a Galileo mare, he's bred to love the grass; he makes his first start for a new trainer; he gets Lasix for the first time; and his work tab shows steady, if not spectacular, morning breezes. In a race that lacks a standout favorite, we think he's worth a shot, so we will bet $15 on Mister Strange.
The 7th (post time 4:20 pm Eastern) is another mile turf race, an allowance/optional $35k claimer for older males. We like 2-Humor: He’s been running against tougher, at the Fair Grounds and Remington Park, but here drops in for a tag. We think he will find this lesser company to his liking, and we will take his 3-1 price, and bet $10 to win on Humor.
There's also one race that we want to play in South Florida. Gulfstream Park’s feature race today is the 9th (post time 4:41 pm Eastern), and it is another allowance/optional claiming race for older horses, a one-turn dirt mile. We love 6-Marconi: He was last seen on last year's Kentucky Derby trail; he got hurt in the Blue Grass Stakes in April, and has been away since. He has always been highly regarded -- he sold for $2,000,000 as a yearling, is trained by Todd Pletcher -- and he has been absolutely tearing it up in the morning: his workout tab shows a horse who is fit, and raring to go. We think this is a very soft spot for a horse with his ability, and we are giddy over his 7/2 morning line. We will bet $25 to win on Marconi, and say a novena that he goes off even remotely close to that price.
That's it for today. Good luck at the windows.