Thoroughbreds Sunday: McMudder picks races at Belmont and Parx and stakes races Laurel - plus Maximum Security runs in a stakes at Monmouth
Happy Father’s Day for all the Dads out there. If you have a Dad, take them to the track today and have a great day. If you don’t have a Dad, take someone else’s. Today the discussion is all about Dads and the horse discussion should match. Mick wrote about Maximum Security needing to do more to ensure his future as a stallion. He is not the only runner today with stallion aspirations. King for a Day, a Todd Pletcher runner in the Pegasus at Monmouth, has a better pedigree than Maximum Security and could buoy his future career options with a victory over the big favorite. So on Father’s Day, think about what it takes to be a Dad.
Picks for June 16, 2019:
Clear and mostly sunny with the possibility of strong storms later in the day.
Belmont Race 4
6-Daddy Knows is more than well named here, he is well intended. A thunderstorm about 15 minutes before the post would help even more but the works show that this one can handle a fast dirt track just fine, thank you. 4-Six Percent stretches out for the first time after closing strongly to just miss last out. Linda Rice has another runner in here that is moving up in distance. 5-Seven Is Heaven has more early gas and should be a pace contender. Holding on for a piece may be a challenge.
$10 W/P/S 6-Daddy Knows
$2 Exacta box 4,6
$1 Trifecta box 4,5,6
Parx Race 3
3-Hey Jabber Jaw won this race last out and got claimed. So does he win again? Does he get claimed back (again) by Mike Catalano? 4-Where’s Rudy gets shipped in by trainer Linda Rice who wins half of her starts at Parx. The morning line is a gift on this one. 6-Cardcounter comes in off shorter races and should be setting the pace.
$10 W/P/S 4-Where’s Rudy
$2 Exacta box 3,4
$1 Trifecta box 3,4,6
Laurel Race 4 – Alma North Stakes
1-Please Flatter Me was very good as a 2-year-old but has not been nearly as successful as a 3-year-old. The calendar did not work out well for this one to run against PA breds and trainer Mark Reid obviously has higher aspirations. 3-Tomlin finished behind the top one last out. She gets top jockey but the extra distance won’t help. 7-Gotta Be Strong won the PA bred stakes mentioned above and ships in for this one bringing regular pilot Frankie Pennington.
$10 W/P/S 1-Please Flatter Me
$2 Exacta box 1,7
$1 Trifecta box 1,3,7
Monmouth Race 10 – Pegasus Stakes
2-Maximum Security returns to the races following the cluster that was the Kentucky Derby and the aftermath. If he runs back to his previous races, he rolls here. The nice thing about racehorses is that they don’t read newspapers and file lawsuits. Don’t expect anything short of excellence here. 3-King for a Day won the Sir Barton at this distance and gets Jersey Joe Bravo in the irons. 4-Identifier takes a huge step up here but has the right connections to be successful.
$10 W/P/S 2-Maximum Security
$2 Exacta box 2,3
$1 Trifecta box 2,3,4
Mick’s Quickie’s
Laurel Race 5 – Polynesian Stakes: 5-No Dozing drops out of graded company where he ran a stellar race to win a G3. Run back to that and he is easy here.
Laurel Race 6 – Prince George’s County Stakes: 1-Just Howard was bred by locals, is named for a local and is owned by locals so he should win the race named for the locale.
Laurel Race 7 – Big Dreyfus Stakes: 8-I’m So Fancy was a G3 winner in Ireland and lands with connections that know how to win big races. Pilot choice is interesting given Danny Centeno is in town.n.