FIRST POST — 1:30 P.M.
LEE’S LOCK Comic Bird in the ninth
BEST BET Captain Genius in the second
LONG SHOT Shake Up in the sixth
SATURDAY’S RESULTS 3-10 (30 percent)
MEET 135-437 (30.9 percent)
*Educated guess
**Things to like
***Plenty to like
****Confident choice
1 Purse $21,000, 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up, maiden claiming $12,500
**FUNKY BOX has been earning the field’s fastest Beyer Speed Figures while competing at a higher maiden-claiming price, and he is one-half of a solid entry with Train Walk. ENDLESS ESCAPE has a series of encouraging workouts leading up to his career debut, and he looks similar to an Asmussen-trained maiden winner (Our Adieu) who won at first asking last Wednesday. SCOTT MAN has produced a mild rally in two starts at the meeting, and he is adding blinkers and offers value at program odds.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
2 Funky Box Thompson Von Hemel 7-2 7 Endless Escape Santana Asmussen 6-1 1a Scott Man Mello Shorter 10-1 6 Four Run Shot Loveberry Fires 5-2 3 Tweet Sense Canchari Robertson 5-1 2x Train Walk LQuinonez Von Hemel 7-2 1 Rough Dan Hill Vance 10-1 4 Buckwheat Landeros Morse 8-1 10 D’wild Tiger Vazquez Richard 8-1 9 Flying Candy Ride Borel Howard 12-1 8 Koppkoatedbullit Laviolette Wittek 20-1 5 Rj’s Indy Storm Cruz Litfin 30-1
2 Purse $33,000, 6 furlongs, 4-year-olds and up, starter optional claiming
***CAPTAIN GENIUS had his two-race winning streak broken when second behind a razor-sharp winner, and the front-runner is dropping in class and rebounds if he continues to hold his form. MONTEZUMA EXPRESS finished a close second in a strong field of $25,000 claimers, and he typically holds his form well. REPENT WITH ME was beaten by a quickly diminishing neck at a higher class level, and he may rally past these if the pace is a contentious one.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
2 Captain Genius Felix Mason 6-5 7 Montezuma Express Santana Richard 5-1 3 Repent With Me Hill Shorter 3-1 4 Almost English Castanon Cox 8-1 2x Wild Target Felix Mason 6-5 6 Walt Berry Compton 8-1 1a Ammaroo Mello Villafranco 8-1 1 Frederico Vazquez Villafranco 8-1 5 Denali South Peak Birzer Martin 15-1
3 Purse $21,000, 6 furlongs, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, Arkansas-bred, maiden claiming $12,500
***CHILEAN QUEEN set a pressured pace in an improved third-place finish, and the lightly raced filly is dropping to the bottom of the state-bred maiden-claiming ranks and the beaten favorite can make amends. BEGUILING CREEK also is dropping in class on the heels of consecutive thirdplace finishes, and she has shown early speed and an ability to rate and finish. TINSLEY’S DISTRICT was beaten two lengths at this level March 25, and the improving filly may offer some value.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
2 Chilean Queen Corbett Smith 7-2 4 Beguiling Creek Canchari Witt 5-2 11 Tinsley’s District Birzer Roberts 8-1 7 Nicoles Bullet Wethey Cline 8-1 3 Sea Lucy’s Reality BQuinonez Rowland 6-1 12 O’ Jackie De La Cruz Martin 12-1 8 Sly Song Indy Mello Martin 15-1 5 Arwildeyedlady Laviolette Creighton 15-1 10 Smokey Juels Rodriguez Van Berg 15-1 1 Endless Bloom Kuntzweiler Whited 20-1 6 Tricky Princess Loveberry Loy 12-1 9 Muster In Manrrique Cook 30-1
4 Purse $21,000, 1 1/16 miles, fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up who have never won two races, claiming $10,000
**PINK LIPGLOSS easily defeated maiden-claiming rivals, and she is spotted to repeat in a bottom conditioned claiming route. FLASHY HOLIDAY may have been best in a troubled third-place sprint tuneup, and she raced well using sprint-to-route tactics at Remington. RAVISHINGLY is taking a slight drop in price following two useful sprint races, and she drew inside and benefits from a positive rider change.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
2 Pink Lipgloss Berry Hartman 5-2 6 Flashy Holiday Hill Raidt 6-1 3 Ravishingly LQuinonez Young 7-2 7 B’s Honey Rocco Sharp 8-1 4 Arabella’s Lady Laviolette McBride 9-2 9 Imma Bee Sexy Birzer Petalino 12-1 10 Hot Shoes Kuntzweiler Cannon 15-1 5 She’ll Get Even Johnson Hartlage 8-1 8 Southern Flash Cruz Northrop 20-1 1 Mz Attica Rodriguez Oliver 20-1
5 Purse $28,000, 1 mile, fillies and mares, 3-yearolds and up, maiden claiming $35,000
**MY SISTER NELL is a two-time runner-up at the meeting who is taking a drop in class and should benefit from a switch to top veteran rider Luis Quinonez. WONDERFUL STAR would have broken her maiden with a clean trip March 19, and she is another making a rider change and is moving to an inside post. SKEE BALL pressed the pace in a solid third-place finish, and she is improving and may be able to control the pace in this field.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
6 My Sister Nell LQuinonez Petalino 3-1 2 Wonderful Star Birzer Hall 7-2 8 Skee Ball Johnson Irwin 4-1 1 Ms Morris Code Mello Chleborad 6-1 9 Jamie’s Girl Berry Hartman 8-1 4 Locust Bayou Loveberry Holthus 8-1 5 Union Beauty Hill Milligan 5-1 3 Literary Lady Corbett Ice 15-1 7 Fence Jumper Rodriguez Hartman 30-1
6 Purse $29,000, 1 1/16 miles, 3-year-olds and up who have never won three races, claiming $30,000
**SHAKE UP tired inside the final furlong after opening a big lead in his return from a freshening, and he is the controlling speed and figures to finish better with kinder rating from a new rider. KING CYRUS is moving up a claiming condition following a stalk-and-pounce, two-length victory, and he represents the stable of Chris Hartman, who is battling for leading trainer honors. SIX SPOT is a stakes-placed runner who is having blinkers removed and dropping to the lowest level of his career for winning connections.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
3 Shake Up Loveberry Caldwell 8-1 4 King Cyrus Vazquez Hartman 5-1 5 Six Spot Santana Asmussen 9-2 9 Hawaakom Berry Hawley 7-2 10 Cool Roger Canchari Ritchey 5-2 1 Nutty Brown Castanon Whited 20-1 6 Dusty Ryder LQuinonez Von Hemel 10-1 7 Hadda Notion Rocco Lauer 15-1 2 Dirty Swagg Felix Van Berg 20-1 8 Perky Kitten BQuinonez Bauserman 15-1
7 Purse $68,000, 1 1/16 miles, 3-year-olds and up, allowance optional claiming
**ALLIED AIR RAID has raced wide and finished with energy in two sharp sprint races, and the recent maiden winner is bred to run this far. PAID ADMISSION is an experienced two-turn runner who was narrowly defeated in a similar field March 26 while earning the fastest Beyer Speed Figure in this field. KING OF NEW YORK showed a lot of determination in her maiden victory, and the pace figures to be honest enough to set up a late run.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
5 Allied Air Raid Castanon Cox 4-1 4 Paid Admission Vazquez Richard 2-1 7 King of New York Landeros McPeek 6-1 6 Tappin Vegas Canchari Diodoro 5-2 9 Perfectly LQuinonez Von Hemel 8-1 1 Sakima Santana Moquett 10-1 3 McMullen County Loveberry Von Hemel 15-1 2 Tizwonderfulcreek BQuinonez Martin 30-1 8 Tony Stark Borel Wiggins 20-1
9 Purse $66,000, 6 furlongs, 3-year-olds and up, Arkansas-bred, maiden special weight
****COMIC BIRD chased a fast pace and continued well to the wire when second in the Rainbow Stakes, and he is back in with maidens and has the look of a shortpriced winner. AIRBORNE AUSTIN was one-paced in a fifth-place finish March 20, but that was in an “open” maiden allowance and he faces state-bred rivals today. REDNECK ATTACK earned a competitive Beyer Speed Figure in a second-place maiden-claiming race that was against “open” rivals, and this field may not be any faster.
PP HORSE JOCKEY TRAINER ODDS
5 Comic Bird Canchari Ice 1-1 1 Airborne Austin LQuinonez Cates 8-1 2 Redneck Attack Loveberry Caldwell 6-1 11 Sandhill Sammy Berry Calhoun 5-1 7 J P of Galilee Kuntzweiler Hornsby 12-1 9 Spotsback De La Cruz Burwell 12-1 3 Cannington Vazquez Moquett 10-1 8 Sweet Visionary Santana Asmussen 15-1 10 Radar’s E.T. Rodriguez Van Berg 30-1 6 Easter Sunglasses Manrrique Ives 30-1 4 Don’t Give Way Cruz Cook 50-1
Exotic wager possibilities
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette handicapper Rick Lee seeks out horses which make good “key” horses in multi-horse and/or multi-race wagers, commonly called exotic wagers.
The 50-cent Pick 3 starting in Race 2 is a good wager because the first leg may have a “single” in Captain Genius, the second leg has a full field of 12 and a couple of major players, and the final leg (Race 4) drew 10 runners and is capable of producing an upset winner. The sixth race drew 10 starters, and with an upset winner on top for me I can afford to spread out in trifecta and superfecta wagers in hopes of catching a big price underneath.