PARX PICKS AND HORSES TO WATCH: FEB. 10

Street Band
Street Band upset the 2019 Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing . Photo by Allison Janezic.

Parx Racing has a 10-race card on tap for this afternoon. Post time for the opener is 12:25 p.m., and we’ve got Parx picks.

How’d we do last time at Parx?

RACE NUMBERCONTENDERSCOMMENTS
Race 43-1-8-10Let’s see if we can kick things off with a mild upset in this claiming event. #3 Klaatu (6-1) beat $10,000 claimers three back and ran credibly at the $12,500 level two back. Last time out, he stopped pretty badly after vying for the early lead, but I’m not inclined to hold that against him too much; he was facing yet better company in a starter allowance and going 1 1/2 miles. Cutting back to a mile distance at which he’s won five times and finding an easier group might do the trick at a decent price… Two for the price of one in the entry of #1 Finglas-#1A Spring Emperor (5-2), and while Finglas is preferred, either should find a spot on your ticket. They ran two-three last out against similar, with Finglas closing nicely into a slow pace… #8 Won the Case (5-1) ran well when just missing in easier company two back and followed that up with a credible try against $8,000 starters. On the stretch to two turns, he shouldn’t be far off the early lead here… #10 Bobbyfromthepalm (9-2) has made reasonably short work of his lifetime conditions, tries open company for the first time…
Race 55-3-1-2Nice maiden special weight on tap here for sophomores with a bevy of first-timers… I usually don’t have much betting patience with horses in maiden company; a few losses in special weight company typically mean that, even if those performances look OK, there are bound to be better horses. That said, we’ll give just one more try to #5 Beren (2-1), who genuinely seems to have taken a step forward with the addition of Lasix in his last two. In the first of those, he ran a perfectly credible fourth in a bulky field in the PA Nursery Stakes, and last out he just missed after leading in a maiden event in which he was a dozen clear of the rest. A repeat of that should make him a graduate today… There are a bunch of debut runners in here, including #3 Ruffy (15-1), an Outwork colt whose work tab is dotted with bullets… The Richard Vega-trained entry of #1 Norrin Radd-#1A The Great Gazoo (9-2) both are making their debuts here. The former is a Liam’s Map colt who cost $100,000 at auction, the latter a son of Malibu Moon… #2 Imperial Road (10-1) is one of just six horses bred in the Mid-Atlantic nominated to the Triple Crown and gets a look for that fact; hard to know what to make of a work tab that’s taken him to every racetrack in PA… Also worth a note here is #4 Three Two Zone (6-1), who was well behind the top choice when third on debut. Last time he ran an improved third (at 14-1) in a maiden event at Aqueduct. We imagine he’ll be scratched, since that last race was Monday, but if not, give him a look…

LATEST HANDICAPPING