Delaware Park picks and horses to watch: July 15

by | Jul 15, 2020 | Breaking, Delaware, Handicapping

Photo by HoofprintsInc.com.

We’ve got Delaware Park picks and horses to watch for the 9-race Wednesday, July 15 card. 

Race 5 — Allowance

  • Three-years-old and up will go five furlongs on the grass in a first-level allowance. 
  • Among those in here with grass experience, #3 Colonel Tom (3/1) looks the most dangerous. He’s making his first start since November 17, when he was a total non-factor in a n/w2x allowance on dirt at Laurel Park. Taking advantage of the way Delaware writes this condition, he drops a bit in class. Most of his grass efforts last year in New York were duds, but he ran a big race against open claimers in Maryland in October. In the summer of 2018, he showed enough good form to go off at 4/1 against a tough field in Belmont Park’s Allied Forces Stakes. Can he recover that good form here?
  • There are three Louisiana shippers in here; two of them look like valid contenders. #4 A Song For Arch (5/1) is one of two in the race with a win on grass this year, having scored at Fair Grounds two races back. He’s coming off a start in the Costa Rising Stakes against Louisiana-breds, where he raced wide on a fast pace and tired in the last eighth. He looks like the fastest one in the race, and should wrestle the early lead. #5 Win Ya Win (9/2) is a perfect 2-for-2, with both wins coming in sprints on dirt at Fair Grounds over the winter. Trainer Jose Camejo is 27% with horses making their grass debuts. 
  • A promising Maryland-bred 3-year-old makes his sophomore debut in here, and his first start on the lawn. #8 Stone Courageous (8/1). Stakes-placed twice as a 2-year-old last year, he’ll run for the first time since a runner-up finish in the Maryland Juvenile Championship on December 7. His breeding doesn’t look especially suited for grass, and Hamilton Smith hits at just 4% with horses coming off a long layoff. This looks like a race to just watch him, and see if he shows promise. If he runs well, it’s a good building block for going forward. 

Race 7 — Allowance/optional claiming

  • Three-year-olds and up will go one mile on the main track in a second-level allowance with an optional claiming tag of $50,000.
  • John Servis already has one promising mid-Atlantic based 3-year-old, in Dreams Untold. He might unveil a second one here, as #6 Super John (2/1) makes his sophomore debut. This $180,000 purchase wrapped up his freshman season with a dominant win in a n/w1x allowance at Laurel in December, winning by 5 1/2 lengths with a very solid speed figure. He’s been working well getting ready for the return, most recently turning in a five-furlong drill at Parx in 59 seconds. This is not an easy field to make his return in, but if he can handle this group, he’s for real. 

WAGERS

  • Race 5: 50-cent pick 3: 3,4,5/3,5/1,6 ($6)
  • Race 8: $5 double: 3,4/2 ($10)
  • Good luck!

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About The Author

John Piassek

John Piassek is currently the communications manager for the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. He's written for Thee Racing Biz since 2015, and has also written about mid-Atlantic racing for Danonymous Racing and the Daily Gallop. In the past, he's worked for America's Best Racing, Freehold Raceway, Tioga Downs, Saratoga Race Course, and Monmouth Park. He graduated from Loyola University Maryland in 2018 with a degree in marketing, and is a member of the inaugural Maryland Thoroughbred Career Program class of 2017. Find John on twitter: @theyreoff.

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