Thursday June 4
Welcome to the "new look" selection page for today's racing. Decided to try a new online format for posting the selections. We'll see how this plays out. With Gulfstream being dark on Thursday I am taking a look at the evening racing card from Charles Town. Only seven races, let's see if we can find something for fun.
7:00 1-Charles Town Claiming 9f
The issue in the CT Opener is the pace flow because of the seven runners entered there are at least four who do their best running on the front end and two-to-three that just flat out don't figure to have an impact on the win end. Clearly the fastest figures go to Maryland invader 7-Incubator (6/5) who is recognized as the quickest in the program. Have to admire the fact that Maryland-based trainer Kieron Magee has won with 25% of his more than 100 runners this year and more importantly he has only shipped here six times, winning three times. Of the most recent ten speed figures, eight would win this in a jog. Just concerned with the outside draw and other speed how the race will unfold. His four and six furlong splits are faster but will he be tested? I looked for someone who runs from off the pace but the only one that is of some interest is a mere 3-for-41 with thirteen slices. Wouldn't go all in because the price will be short, but he looks best. Watch the board for action on any of the others for further clues.
$5 WIN #7 Incubator
7:33 2-Charles Town Maiden Claiming 41/2f
The drop from a 4th place finish in MSW company by 1-Indian Wildfire (7/5) should be enough to make the second time starting 4yo the favorite in here. But what catches my eye is that the combined trainer records for the other six runners add up to 10-for-165 while trainer Ronney Brown has won 24 of 154 starts this year. That HAS to make a difference in here, right? Toss in that Indian Wildfire ran with less than a full tank of gas in that debut after he "flipped the rider in the gate" according to the trouble comment line. OK, these ARE $12.5K maidens at Charles Town on a Thursday so let's not go wild, but you have to think the favorite is legit, again.
$5 WIN #1 Indian Wildfire
8:00 3-Charles Town Claiming nw2L 41/2f
With the "best" three last Beyers being a 20, 21, and 24 it's hard to have much confidence here. There are back figures in the 40's for 1-Virginia Peach (9/2) who drops to the lowest level yet. And to her credit, of the eleven losses she's suffered four were in stakes company and three others were in restricted allowance races. So this might be the "right spot."
PASS
8:27 4-Charles Town Claiming nw2x 41/2f
Interesting that in the conditions it's footnoted that races vs. W Va breds do not count towards the nw2x restriction so there are some multiple winners to face in here. But it stands out like a sore thumb that lightly raced 4-Azkaree (2/1) debuted at Gulfstream in a $12.5K event and won with a 61 Beyer. ANYTHING remotely close to that effort wins this $5K nw2x event by a pole. Speed for a half mile in :45.4 vs. $6.25K nw2L winners in her first try would be good enough to be on the lead in this short 4 1/2 furlong event. Right to the front for the new barn and probably doesn't look back.
$5 WIN #4 Azkaree
8:55 5-Charles Town Claiming nw2L 7f
First, let's note that a 7 furlong event here at Charles Town goes around two turns. With that said it's really, REALLY hard to have anything positive to say about any of these. One runner has been out eight times but is a 12/1 outsider. Everyone else has double digit losses. A couple of them have back figures that would win but nothing of late indicates they might run back to those figures. It's a pass for me here.
PASS
9:23 6-Charles Town Starter Allowance 7f
Tonight's 6th might provide the one opportunity to collect a little money. 4-Hobe Sound (4/1) has paired Beyer figures (73) that are a couple lengths behind a few of the shorter odds runners most recent races. But he has run faster in the past, so the first positive angle is he may be ready to step forward with one of his best tries. But what appeals most to me is that the conditions require that a runner has been entered for a $5K tag at some point in the recent past. Hobe Sound exits three allowance races, not starter allowance events like this, allowance races. No one else can say that. And he WON one of them, the most recent. Then you scan down his pp's and you note that the ONLY times he was entered for a tag less than $10K, which happened twice, he not only won, he won the first by 12 3/4 lengths earning the comment, "easily;" and the other was a 14 length victory drawing the comment, "much the best." He's the "price play" tonight.
$10 WIN #4 Hobe Sound
9:50 7-Charles Town Allowance nw1x 41/2f
Not that I play small tracks like this (Charles Town, Evangeline, Mountaineer) often, but when I do I like to find runners who've run competitively with "the big boys" at a "major track." And in this featured event, 2-Call Me Jelly Roll (4/1) fits that bill with her pp's littered with efforts that are mostly very competitive at Laurel. Trainer Bernard Dunham takes over with this one and he's been a 45% winner locally from about a dozen starters. The filly is an 8x winner who can win on or off the pace tonight.
$5 WIN #2 Call Me Jelly Roll
10:18 8-Charles Town Claiming 7f
The conditions read, "for 3yo and up which haven't won a race since Dec 2019" and nine of the ten show their "most recent" win..... Nov 2019, July 2019, Nov 2019, 2 who won sometime before Aug 2019, Sept 2019, May 2019, Mar 2019, Dec 2018. But 3-Not A Secret (9/2) shows a win in January and one in December. The January victory was against starter allowance company for this same nickel level, but doesn't "count" in the conditions because it was a W Va bred event. Note that this 7yo mare is a SEVENTEEN time winner (by far the most in the field) with fifteen of those coming here. And perhaps more significantly, she's won 6-of-17 at this two-turn 7f trip.
$5 WIN #3 Not A Secret
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