After taking the day off yesterday to recover from our trip down to Gulfstream Park to cover the Pegasus World Cup, we are back home. Not only did I make it home to watch my Eagles make the Super Bowl, we head to Parx for Monday’s race of the day.
Today we have a field of 13 older fillies and mares going six furlongs on the main track. Our friend Jessica Paquette will be on the call for this claiming race which will head to the gate around 3:14 pm Eastern time.
Parx Race 8 – Claiming $7,500
Favored in our race today is the 3 Annieworkstoomuch (7/2 morning line). She returns home after a road trip to Aqueduct where she tired against state-bred foes. This filly will gun for the lead here against a much softer field as she returns to the claiming ranks here.
The 11 Shake It Baby (4/1 ML) comes in from Laurel after tiring last month. She drops to this claiming tag today looking to get back on track. I’m expecting her to be stalking the pace and trying to take over in the stretch with the top trainer/jockey combination on the Parx grounds.
The 10 Denali Rae (5/1 ML) returns to the races after a three-month layoff. She will be forwardly places here today from her outside post as well. Her trainer does do well with horses having layoffs like this mare has, but it is a small sample size according to DRF.
The 13 Miss M M (6/1 ML) has to draw in off the also eligible list here today, but she closed well in this exact same race three races back here at Parx. She will be racing for the third time this year, so there are some concerns about running as frequently as this mare has so far this year. But maybe she is healthy and happy and wanting to run again today.
Joe’s Pick
This is a type of race that I like to handicap. Play around with the pieces of the puzzle and see if I can figure out who can win this race. Is this the most attractive race on the card? Probably not, but as least there is a possibility of making some money here.
Am I concerned about Miss M M? Sure, but I’m going to take the devil’s advocate role here and think that she is showing that she is ready to run here. But I won’t argue against a contradictory opinion that some might have on this mare.
But I think she is a horse that can close here. She might need to tuck in some with the far outside post if she gets in the field today. I’ll take a chance on Miss M M here to pass the tiring horses in the final furlong.
I’m calling this race 13-11-3-10, and my play is $20 to win on the 13. Best of luck everyone. Go Birds and I’ll see you in the winner’s circle!