Spotlight Race of the Week-Ohio
Shes Spectacular was the winner of last weeks Spotlight race, tucking in behind the leader and rolling off to win by a little more than a length and paying $12.90. Unfortunately, I missed her, but felt she had a chance after a pair of decent low-end claimer outings.
I also missed Lady of Venom who set the pace and finished in second in what turned out to be a two horse race. The drop in distance almost paid off in a win. Cherry Auror was the heavy favorite (and my third pick) who ran a flat third throughout the race.
I went out on a limb with this race which looked to be wide open, and turned out to be so. My top pick Sudden Honor had nothing to offer and finished dead last. Second selection Zombie Lunchbreak had a bad run, finishing next to last.
Time to make things right. I’ve missed the winner in the last few races and it’s time to end this nasty streak.
1 Soul Exposed 48-1 –Front runner who had some success late summer/early fall last year. Looks to favor grass a tad more than dirt as speeds are higher. Fizzled badly in last going mile and half for first time and showed he’s better off in sprints. Probably will fizzle out again and is over his head at this level.
2 Castrovalva 2-1-Claimed in January and been running in starter allowances since with good success with a win and pair of seconds. Looks good in this field and distance suits with speeds in the 90’s. Has had past troubles over this track finishing well out of money in three tries. Those came a good 4 years back and that could be past history, but still something to think about.
3. Demille 6-1 –Horse has been claimed multiple times in 2011 and is onto fifth one this year. Has won last two outings at 16 and 9.5 furlongs with speeds in mid to upper 80’s. Should get good positioning near front to make late move. A contender in this one.
4. Roses in Maria 9-2-Has been a consistent paycheck earner this year, finishing in top 5 in all 6 starts. Looks to be in good form with speeds mostly in the mid 80’s. Could factor into the triples.
5. Master of Kings 4-1-Since August, this one has brought home a paycheck in each race except once for finishing in top 5. About ¾ of these were top-3 finishes. Speeds of late have been mid-80’s up to 90. Another one that factors into triples.
6. Boltor 54-1-Horse is racing well out of his class level. This guy is a maiden who has speed numbers well below his competition in this race. He looks better in low-end maiden claimers and needs more than the 2-weeks rest between races to properly recover and be more competitive.
7. Zi Chachin 7-1-Put in surprising win in last after being claimed with only one week rest and set career speed mark of 93. Gets two weeks between races going into this race and I’m not sure that will be met with equal results.
8. Merry Men Ch 5-2-Comes off two excellent races finishing 3rd at 10f with SP of 97 and recently a 2nd at mile with SP of 94. Colt is being asked to go 12 flanks for first time and looks capable with very nice late speed. The longer run may be the right move his new trainer is planning.
Merry Men Ch is my choice in this field. This is his second race back after a near 2-month layoff and his return was pretty darn good. I think there will be vast improvement off of that and the extra distance should proof very beneficial.
Catrovalva the favorite is my second choice. He likes the distance and I’m ignoring his past history on this track. Makes amends here.
Several will battle for third spot and I’m giving it to Master of Kings who has been a consistent paycheck earner and gets the edge on others with top jockey Grunhard (29% win) handling the horse..