Equidaily Racing Journal

Coast-to-coast

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Saturday, June 9, 2007
Picks and plays for some of the day's major stakes
by Seth Merrow

We'll concentrate on nine stakes coming to you from NY and SoCal this afternoon. The highlights, of course, the G1 Belmont Stakes at Belmont, and the return of Lava Man in the G1 Whittingham at Hollywood.

Turf wagers are turf only

Best Bets

Belmont, Race 2, Prom Party.
Belmont, Race 5, Meribel.
Belmont, Race 8, Street Magician.
Belmont, Race 13, Jackie's Punt.
Monmouth, Race 9, straight exacta, Audacious Chloe/Wine Diva.
Hollywood, Race 5, Valbenny.


Belmont: True North Hcp G2 $200K

Keyed Entry...Sprinting is his game and he showed that with the seasonal comebacker in Florida. Let's toss the latest and look for a rebound.
Bordonaro...Vied for the Sprint Eclipse last season. Win in Arkansas indicates he's in good form.
Council Member...Interesting. Early career was on grass in Europe but big win in US debut might show he's found a home on dirt.
Joey P

Wager: $5 WP on Keyed Entry.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Belmont: Just a Game G2 $300K

Wait a While...Only turf dud was on OK fourth in the G1 BC F/M Turf. Toss last on the Poly. Look for the rebound here.
My Typhoon...Solid stakes-quality turfer from Mott is the one to beat.
Mauralakana.

Wager: $10 exacta Wait a While over My Typhoon.


Belmont: Woody Stephens BC G2 $250K

Street Magician...Up-and-comer tossed in a dud in the G3 Withers but followed with a nice win in G3 Hirsch Jacobs. Needs his best effort here.
Most Distinguished...Beyer in last might have been aided by track but still looks to be improving for Zito.
Deadly Dealer...Third behind Curlin in G2 Ark Derby. Returns to sprint. Dangerous.
Stormello.

Wager: $5 WP on Street Magician.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Belmont: Acorn G1 $250K

Dream Rush...Might have needed the seasonal debut, otherwise she's been dominant. The one-turn mile certainly looks well within her scope.
Boca Grande...Don't think we've seen the best of her yet. She's won the two times she's tried a one-turn mile -- including once on this track.
Princess Janie...Only three starts and improving.
Christmas Kid.

Wager: $5 WP on Dream Rush.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Belmont: Manhattan Hcp G1 $400K

English Channel...Tossed in a real clunker in Dubai. Has had a couple of months to recover. Should rebound to top form. A near-miss fourth in this race last year.
Cosmonaut...Just couldn't get it done in G1 competition last year but looks set to run well in third start back in 2007.
Better Talk Now...8YO will be running late.
Sky Conqueror.

Wager: $5 WP on English Channel.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Belmont: Belmont Stakes G1 $1 mil

Tiago...Haven't been sold on Curlin throughout this series so, as they say, we attend the funeral if we've missed the wedding? We'll shoot for an upset. This guy probably needs to step it up but he's already shown the ability to do so -- moving forward quite a bit in the G1 SA Derby. They've had two months to work on him since the G1 Ky Derby and he just might like the distance today.
CP West...Another that has to step up but the G1 Preakness try was promising. He wasn't too far off that hot pace and still held well for fourth. Might move forward off of that.
Curlin...He's run better than we've picked him in the first two legs -- so he's liable to get us again today. Clearly very talented -- but, like the others, the distance is a question mark.
Hard Spun.

Wager: $5 WP on Tiago.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Hollywood: Honeymoon BC Hcp G2 $175K

Valbenny...Won against a similar bunch at 1M last time. Manner in which she did it indicates the extra furlong shouldn't present a problem.
Super Freaky...Beat top pick two back then ran second to her last time. Distance might be a little bit more of a question mark for this one.
Eclisse...Euro-import ran well in France -- but quality is a question.
Passified.

Wager: $5 WP on Valbenny.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Hollywood: Ack Ack Hcp G3 $100K

Siren Lure...Came out of the G3 San Simeon last year to jump up and start a nice summertime streak.
El Roblar...Interesting on the cutback to a sprint.
Porto Santo...Another one making an interesting cutback. Has raced mostly on turf but went well on this track in latest.
Soul City Slew.

Wager: $5 WP on Siren Lure.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Hollywood: Whittingham Memorial Hcp G1 $300K

Lava Man...Clunker in Dubai but back on his home turf. Won this race last year and is capable of repeat if he's back to his top form.
Red Fort...Just missed in this race in 2005. OK second in latest in first race in awhile. Should be tighter today.
After Market...We've thought he was better than he was showing for awhile now and he got it done for us last time. Moving in the right direction and probably needs to keep improving to get it done here.
Obrigado.

Wager: $5 WP on Lava Man.
...$2 exacta box top two.
...$1 exacta box top four.
...$1 tri box top four.


Coast-to-coast Archives...Picks, plays and results from previous weeks

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