Delaware Park horses to watch: June 8

Off at Delaware Park. Photo © www.HoofprintsInc.com.

by Frank Vespe

There are a couple of allowance races late in today’s Delaware Park card, but the day’s most interesting race might be the fifth, a tricky maiden special weight test going 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track. Post time is 3:15 p.m.

The race has attracted a mixture of three runners who’ve run pretty well without winning and five horses making their career debuts. Of the former group, Nfusion, trained by Eddie Plesa, is the 5-2 morning line favorite and will have Joe Bravo in the  irons. He’s winless in four tries, two on the turf, but has been second or third in three of them.

But it’s worth taking a look at the firsters here. Worth particular mention are:

• Master Chief (9-2), an Arnaud Delacour trainee. The To Honor and Serve colt is a half-brother to eight winners, including two stakes winners, and he’s been working forwardly for a trainer who can get debut runners to win.
• Trainer Mark Reid doesn’t have much luck with first starters, but you can’t entirely ignore Cobh (8-1). The Pioneerof the Nile gelding fetched $270,000 at auction and has been training well enough to make an impact here.
• Also worth noting: the trainers of the other three debut runners, Mike Gorham (Flying Alex), Ron Alfano (Winplaceorshowono), and Tres Abbott (Ghostwalker) all have strong records and positive ROIs with debut runners.

The eighth race is a wide open, first level allowance going one mile on the turf, and it’s attracted a full field of 11 horses. One horse worth a look in here is Hot and Heavy (5-1). The Anthony Pecoraro trainee has moved forward since being equipped with blinkers, with three straight in-the-money finishes; and his last, a second in a Laurel Park allowance, may be better than it looks. The winner, Tusk, is a graded stakes-placed runner trained by Graham Motion who would certainly be favored in here. Ashley Castrenze will ride.

Post time for the eighth is 4:45 p.m.