Wednesday at the track: Garrity goes to Kentucky Downs to pick 3 races including the $300,000 Tapit Stakes
With New York and California racing both dark this week, we were thinking of taking a brief freshening, but we don’t want to miss Kentucky Downs, which is a track we love, and which has just six live dates this year. So we’re headed to Western Kentucky for three quick Wednesday plays. As always, all races at Kentucky Downs are on turf, and we expect firm going over it today. Let’s go.
Kentucky Downs, Race 8, 4:59 pm ET
Allowance/Optional Claiming, 1 mile, Turf, 3 & Up
Big fields are the norm at Kentucky Downs, and this second-level allowance is no exception, as eleven line up to run a mile. We’re going with a price here, 5-Gun It, who starts for trainer Steve Asmussen. He’s got a regal pedigree (by Tapit out of a Medaglia d’Oro mare), and he has a record in the sales ring to go with it, as he sold for a whopping $2.6 million as a yearling. We like his breeding, and we like his running style, but the question is whether he will take to the turf, as all thirteen of his career starts have been on conventional dirt. We think the answer will be yes, but because he’s an unknown on the sod, we get 8-1 odds. We will take that, and will bet him to win. The bet: Kentucky Downs, Race 8, $30 to win on 5-Gun It.
Kentucky Downs, Race 9, 5:32 pm ET
$300,000 Tapit Stakes, 1 mile, 70 yards, 3 & Up
A full field of twelve goes in the Tapit. We’re all over one of them, 5-English Bee, who comes from the very good Mike Maker barn, and who has run pretty well in two consecutive graded stakes races, an excellent second in the Grade 2 Wise Dan at Churchill on June 20, and a sixth-place finish, only a length behind the winner, in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland on July 10. The horses he ran against in those two were much, much tougher than those he faces today, and he’s in razor-sharp form, so we’re heading to the windows. Look for him to sit mid-pack early, and to move to the front at the top of the long Kentucky Downs home stretch. We will bet him to win at 5-1. The bet: Kentucky Downs, Race 9, $40 to win on 5-English Bee.
Kentucky Downs, Race 10, 6:04 pm ET
Allowance, 1 5/16 miles, Fillies & Mares 3 & Up
Twelve females go long in this first-level allowance race. The pick is 7-Sursum Corda, a 3-year-old filly coming off a nice maiden win at Saratoga on July 31. That race was at a mile and three-eighths, which suggests that she will handle the distance, and her strong closing kick will be a fit here as well. Look for her to be last early, and rolling late. Sursum corda is a Latin term that means “lift up your hearts,” and we think this filly will do exactly that to the punters who back her in this race. We will bet her to win at 4-1. The bet: Kentucky Downs, Race 10, $40 to win on 7-Sursum Corda.
That’s all for today. Until the next time, enjoy the racing, be safe, and, as always, good luck at the windows.