Delaware Park 2019 horses to watch: May 22

by | May 22, 2019 | Breaking, DE Racing, Delaware, Racing

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

by Frank Vespe

Delaware Park has a a solid 10-race card on tap this Wednesday. Some horses to watch:

Race 1 – Maiden special weight

  • Two-year-olds will go 6 furlongs on the main track in a maiden special weight test.
  • The odds are unappetizing, but we’ll be curious to see how #2 Tomato Bill (9-5) performs in this spot. The More Than Ready colt cost a half-million dollars at auction as a yearling last summer; he’s out of the stakes-placed Unbridled’s Song mare Allez Marie and is a half-brother to the stakes winner Workaholic. This one began his training in Florida before shifting north to trainer Christophe Clement’s Belmont Park operation and has been training well enough for a conditioner who has a 14 percent strike rate with first-timers. The knock here: why not start him in New York, with its much larger purses (and no need to ship)? Could be the schedule — the most recent dirt race for 2-year-old maidens was last Friday, and the next maiden event is Friday on the turf — but it still doesn’t feel like a vote of confidence, and we’ll look for better value. Kendrick Carmouche is up.
  • Selections: 1-2-6-3

Race 6 – Allowance/optional claiming

  • Three-year-olds and up will go six furlongs in a third-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $50,000.
  • The Ned Allard-trained #5 Always Sunshine (9-2) makes his first start of 2019 in this spot after scratching out of the G3 Maryland Sprint at Pimlico over Preakness weekend. The seven-year-old is a multiple stakes winner of more than $500,000, and he’s enjoyed success at Delaware Park, having run first and second in two prior tries in the six-furlong Hockessin Stakes. When last seen, he ran poorly in the Gravesend at Aqueduct but had been a good third in the G3 Fall Highweight in his prior start. He has six recorded works since returning to the track in April, and every one of them was the fastest recorded at the distance that day. This runner has a history of firing fresh, and Allard will leg up meet leader Carol Cedeno. Also of note: he’s been gelded since his last start.
  • Selections: 5-3-7-2

Arabian Watch

Thanks to Stephanie Ruff and Arabian Finish Line for giving us insights to the Arabian racing at Delaware Park.

No Arabian race today.