Good morning racing fans! With the dust settling on the Saratoga meet we’re opening our racing forms to old reliable Gulfstream Park for a few days until Belmont Park opens next Thursday. As of the time of this writing, we’re expecting fast and firm conditions with the threat of rain as the afternoon goes on.
We’ll be handicapping for fast and firm and saying a prayer we don’t get washed off. I'll be honest, I don’t love today’s races so I am only giving out two runners. Both longshots. We haven’t played Gulfstream in a while and are going to take things a little easy until we find something we can sink our teeth into.
Let’s get to work!
Thursday picks for Gulfstream Park:
Race 2: Dignified - 1 pt win (US Morning Line Odds: 12/1)
Maidens sprint here and we’ve got a field full of both first time starters and runners with limited success in limited starts. We’re taking a shot with Dignified breaking from the outside post. Trainer Jose Pinchin is far more adept with runners winning second time out but Dignified has a Tomlinson figure of 388 which tells us he’s bred to be head and shoulders above these. Trainer Pinchin’s win percentage is 8% but when he pairs up with rider Edgard Zayas that number more than doubles to 17%. Worth a play at a price.
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Race 8: Happy Loudon - 1 pt win (US Morning Line Odds: 15/1)
Turf sprinters throw it down to close out our Thursday card and turf sprints are typically loaded with speed. This one is not and Happy Loudon looks like she might be able to get away with an easy early lead. Trainer wins 17% with runners 2nd off a layoff and this one’s getting blinkers on for the very time. Many times that accentuates a horse’s speed as she’s able to stay focused on the task ahead of her. Trainer Amador Sanchez wins with 20% of his turf sprinters and this runner has both of her career wins at this track and distance. Here’s to hoping we get a happy ending to our day from Happy Loudon!
Good luck to everyone playing Thursday’s races from Gulfstream Park!!