Delaware Park horses to watch: October 18

by | Oct 18, 2017 | Breaking, DE Racing, Delaware, Racing

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

by Frank Vespe

Delaware Park has an eight-race card on tap for Wednesday, with the finale for Arabians. Scheduled post time is 1:15 p.m. Some horses to watch:

  • The fourth is a maiden special weight event for two-year-old fillies going a mile 70 yards on the main track. The morning line and likely post time favorite is the Larry Jones trainee #5 She’s Got Pride (2-1). The Proud Citizen filly was a decent fourth on debut and likely picked up valuable education that should serve her well in here. She may be tough in here, but another runner we want to see in action here is #7 Mame (6-1). The Mike Stidham-trained Blame filly was fourth last out sprinting and had an excuse when she stumbled at the start, compromising her chances. The winner, Yes to the Dress, won off by four length and then dazzled in winning the Jamestown Stakes on the Laurel turf by five. What’s more, Mame is bred to want a route of ground; her sire’s best-ever effort was a win in the 1 1/14 mile Breeders’ Cup Classic. Hot bug rider Jose Bracho will ride.
  • The seventh is a first-level allowance/optional claimer going a mile 70 yards on the main track. The morning line favorite is — shocker — a Larry Jones trainee in the form of #6 All Out of Aces (9-5), who’s certainly enjoyed Delaware Park; he has two easy wins and a near-miss second from three starts. He’s also one of several horses that figures to be involved in the early running. That suggests win honors might be more likely to fall to either #3 Ring Necked (8-1) or #5 Painter’s Rags (5-2) The former is a Mike Catalano trainee whose late-closing style hasn’t been an impediment to his success; he’s a 10-time winner in his career and should appreciate the setup he gets here. The only knock: he’s got a 6-0-2-1 record over the strip. Bracho will ride, and he and Catalano are five-for-nine together in the last two months. The latter cuts the right profile of a lightly-raced horse moving through his conditions. The Graham Motion trainee won at first asking at Laurel and then tried several times against tougher competition, his best result being a second-place finish in an off-the-turf allowance at Saratoga. The knock on him: in his return to the mid-Atlantic, he was eased in his last despite being sent off at 7-5. Alex Cintron is up.

ARABIAN WATCH

Arabian handicapping is provided by our friends at Arabian Finish Line