Welcome to Churchill Downs – hope you brought your kayak!
It’s been a wet morning but the rain is slowly creeping off in the distance (sooner than expected!) and we might just be able to save ourselves from sending horses swimming to post. This always reigns as one of the best racecards to handicap … it’s like a mini-Breeders’ Cup … there are six stakes – for various divisions – and most of the best show up.
Let’s take a shot at the All Stakes Pick 6 for $192, shall we? Beginning at 1:19 pm ET …
Leg 1: Eight Belles
2-Hot Dixie Chick … absolute class of the field, loves the track, got sidetracked at Fair Grounds over the winter otherwise would have been a major Oaks contender
1-Buckleupbuttercup … best name of the day … broke her maiden here and has progressed nicely – even if this is a big step up in class
2nd leg: Churchill Distaff
7-Diamondrealla … first start away from the Gary Stevens angle at play, plus she loves the distance and should be a decent price
5-Tizaqueena … on a roll and is the logical favorite
3rd leg: Humana Distaff
3-Informed Decision … second start off the layoff and is the winner of last year’s edition over similarly wet conditions
9-Free Flying Soul … looks primed for a big run
4th leg: Churchill Downs
7-Warrior’s Reward … this is home, he’s on a roll, Ian tells me he’s training better than he ever has before
13-Accelerate … last year’s winner is a wet track specialist who’s been firing bullets here
5th leg: Turf Classic
9-Yate’s Black Cat … gets Julien up, loves Churchill, seems ready to break through
3-Court Vision … if only because every time I try to play against him, he wins … solid favorite but I do not whatsoever like the back-to-back losses coming in – he has something to prove
6th leg: Kentucky Derby
1-Lookin At Lucky … undefeated when not on the Santa Anita Pro-Ride, showed an amazing turn of foot in the mud here on Monday, and he’s had the troubled trips to prove he can handle anything
16-Awesome Act … can be placed anywhere and will be perfectly fine getting mud kicked in his face given the way he trains in the mornings (per Julien: it’s the only way he knows how to work)
2-Ice Box … looks great, runs great, big price
