Afternoon and Evening Turf

Thank goodness it's Friday!! We look at another sprint turf at Keeneland and an evening distance turf at the Meadowlands.

Keeneland Race 7 {5 1/2 furlongs~Turf~3 year old Up~Allowance}
We hit another turf sprint today. A reasonably difficult race to handicap as all entered are relatively close in ability. I am going to give a look at Escrow (Mena / Stall). Though this horse has not run over the turf, he has a good speed number over the synthetic. Stall is a good trainer with turf horses having a stout 46% in the money (ITM) over the surface. Clapham (Court / Murphy) looks well prepared for this contest with solid works, good speed and coming back from a 7 furlong race. George's Cigar (Albarado / Nicks) is coming off a seven month layoff, but has worked nicely up to this event. Maneke (Rose / Dini) is a consistent performer who will be in the mix at the end. Let's give this one a shot:

$2 SHOW: #2 Escrow
10 CENT Superfecta: #2 Escrow / #8 Clapham / #1 George's Cigar / #9 Maneke

Meadowlands Race 8 {John Henry Stakes~1 3/8 mile~Turf~3 year old Up}
This race is scheduled to go off at 10:08 pm et. Under the lights on the turf at a longer distance than normal, this will be a great race. There are a few which are capable of a standout performance. Picou (Lezcano / Brown) looks ready to pop a good race off with experience on this track and decent speed numbers, though a humdrum work. Expansion (Maragh / Brown) looks ready with a good speed number last out and some quality works. The Brazilain bred, New Fandan (Studart / Russo), has covered a number of longer distances earlier in his career while racing in Brazil. Good last out speed number and a good speed number at a longer distance, he could be the surprise here. Both Dubai Gold (Lopez / Servis) and Rockaby Baby (Trujillo / Smith) could figure prominently as they love the surface. Let's give this one a New Jersey try.

$2 SHOW: #9 Picou
10 CENT Superfecta: #9 Picou / #8 Expansion / #11 New Fandan(BRZ) / #2 Dubai Gold, #12 Rockaby Baby

Thursday Results
Keeneland R8. Simply Seattle ran well, but not well enough finishing 4th. Superfecta went 9-10-11-7.
Hawthorne R6. No Wager as the race was moved off the Turf resulting in a rash of scratches.
Bankroll sits at $11.30