Thoroughbred Tuesday: Garrity picks today's races at Indiana Grand
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There’s a light slate in the simulcasting world today, so we’ll head to our summer Tuesday standby, Indiana Grand Racing. We’re expecting the dirt to be fast, and the grass to be firm. Let’s go.
Indiana Grand Race 3, 3:11 pm ET
Maiden Special Weight, 6 furlongs, dirt, Indiana-bred fillies & mares 3 and up
A field of eight is entered here. We like the outside runner here, 7-Nina’s Promise, a 3-year-old trained by Brian Cook. She is winless in ten starts, which is not good, but she’s been running consistently recently, which suggests she’s sound. And most important, she catches a weak field here, and we think she can stalk effectively from the outside post position. We will bet her to win at 4-1. The bet: Indiana Grand, Race 3, $20 to win on 7-Nina’s Promise.
Indiana Grand Race 5, 4:07 pm ET
Allowance, 6 furlongs, dirt, 2-year-old fillies
6-Whistlin’ Dixie is a strong play here. This girl lost her first race in June, but that race was better than it looked: she was bumped at the start, fell far back, and still rallied for third. Then she came back to win her second start three weeks ago, against a good maiden field (and in a field of 11; we always like it when a horse can beat that many runners). And she has a solid workout in the interim. She’s got the top last-race speed figure, and we think she takes this one. We will bet her to win, and we will also (see Race 6 below) bet her in the double. The bets: Indiana Grand, Race 5, $40 to win on 6-Whistlin’ Dixie; $25 double, 6 (Whistlin’ Dixie) with 5 (Hawaiian Memories).
Indiana Grand Race 6, 4:35 pm ET
Allowance, 1 1/16 miles, turf, Indiana-bred fillies & mares 3 and up
This first-level allowance affair drew a field of nine. There’s another strong play in here, and it’s 5-Hawaiian Memories. This 4-year-old has only one win from 16 career starts, but she’s finished in the money in nine of those 16, and this field looks much weaker than those she’s been facing. She has also been better on the turf than on the dirt: her late-running style is a better fit on the sod than it is on the main track. There’s quite a bit of early speed in here, which should set up the race for a late run from her. We like her very much, and we will bet her to win at 7/2. The bet: Indiana Grand, Race 6, $35 to win on 5-Hawaiian Memories.
Indiana Grand Race 8, 5:31 pm ET
Maiden Special Weight, 1 mile, turf, 3 & up
A full field of 12 is entered here. There’s the usual mixed bag of runners, with all kinds of different race records, but there is no clear-cut favorite, no horse whose form stands out over the others. So we are going to take a stab at a price, and that is 6-Unveiling. This 3-year-old gelding was claimed last out by Mike Maker, from the classy Shug McGaughey/Phipps Stable, in a maiden claimer at Churchill Downs. Like all Phipps horses, he’s very well-bred : he’s a son of Arch, out of a Forest Wildcat mare. He has not shown much speed thus far in his career, but we think a change in barns and a change in racing surface – his previous four starts have all been on dirt – just might wake him up. He’s bred to like the grass, and Maker has good stats with horses first off the claim, and horses switching from dirt to turf. We will bet Unveiling to win at 12-1. The bet: Indiana Grand, Race 8, $25 to win on 6-Unveiling.
That’s all for today. Good luck at the windows.