By Joe Quillen
BREAKING NEWS FROM THE QPW BUREAU AT TAMPA BAY DOWNS IN OLDSMAR, FLORIDA
The 5 horse in Wednesday’s finale, Magical Marriage had a perfect trip along the rail in the turf finale, and then the sea of horseflesh parted and he came up the rail for a 13/1 winner! Those that wagered on the seven-year-old gelding got a $28.40 return on your wagers. A $20 wager which was suggested yesterday would be a return of $284.
For the QPW, that means that for it only begin three races into to the new year, we are making a profit in 2024! Through four wagers in the first three days of 2024 (remember we had that superfecta wager in the Tuesday QPW), we are currently $212 in the black right now. Remember how I told you bet within your means? Quit when you’re ahead? All that stuff? I would not go crazy knowing I’d have some extra money in my wallet from a nice return on my investment like I did on Wednesday.
Thursday 1/4/24 – Gulfstream Park Race 6
But we will dabble in today’s featured race, the sixth race at Gulfstream, as if yesterday never happened. We won’t go big knowing there’s a few extra Franklins and Hamiltons in my pocket. That’s what I strive to do when I have a good day at the track or the casino. I want to make sure that some money stays in my pocket or ends up back in my bank account.
The sixth race on Thursday is a mile and three-sixteenth race on the Tapeta for maidens four-year-olds and up. Seven horses will head to the gate for this race with a post time of approximately 2:39 pm Eastern time.
This should be an interesting race here where if you know your breeding of what horses will go today’s distance or longer in future races, then you should have a leg up here. I admit I’m not the best with breeding and trends like that, but at least I can take a look at some of the numbers for some of the horses in the family tree.
The 1 is Honor Gold (30/1 morning line) who is 0 for 8 so far in his career and hasn’t been faring well against much softer company here. This would be an absolute shocker if he wins as he has been on synthetic once and didn’t do that much.
Bee Well (#2, 6/1 ML) nearly won this race two back running the same exact distance and has proven despite being 0 for 10 can go this distance. The field doesn’t impress me that much, so you could get a nice winner here if you go here with your money.
The 3 Hazen (12/1 ML) was very wide all the way around in his debut and failed miserably in a six-furlong sprint. He’s stretching out to a much longer distance today. His sire Street Sense has his horses win at longer distances than the horses’ sires, so this may not be a grasping at straws decision by his connections.
The 4 Champagne Juan (2/1 ML favorite) ran well on the turf last time out finishing second in November at Aqueduct in his third career start. He’s third race back off of a layoff so if that’s your angle, this is your horse no matter what the odds are. Going turf to tapeta is much easier to do than turf to dirt.
The 5 Scat Tu Tap (3/1 ML) is 0 for 10, and ran in the same race at Aqueduct as the 4. He was on the lead and was outfinished. He is lone speed in this race.
The 6 Brees (4/1 ML) is second race off of a layoff and is 0 for 4 lifetime. He also ran in that aforementioned Aqueduct race and was closing at the end. But I think this race may not be too friendly to closers.
Finally, the 7 War Officer (7/2 ML) is another closer who ran in that same race in November at Aqueduct. He’s been close the last three times out, and is third race off of a layoff. Again, another horse if you like that angle.
Usually turf horses runs well on synthetic surfaces. On top of that, we have an experienced synthetic horse here in Bee Well. I think Hazon will be fine in this race. He needed the experience of a race. Champagne Juan¸ Brees and War Officer will all be there. I want to see a race from Scat Tu Tap before I plunk money down. Honor Gold won’t do anything.
We swung for the fences yesterday, and we are doing it again today. My play is a $20 win wager on the 2 Bee Well. Let’s call this race 2-4-5-6 in the sixth race on Thursday at Gulfstream Park. Good luck with your wagers, and catch you on Friday!
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