Monday's Best Bet: Hal keeps in touch in Tom Ridge
Monday’s seventh race at Presque Isle Downs is the $80,000 Tom Ridge Stakes for 3-year-olds dashing six furlongs on the all-weather surface. The scheduled post time is 5:42 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Presque Isle entries and results.
No. 6 Hal (4-1) won his extended sprint bow at Woodbine last year and clicked right back at that course and distance in the Display Stakes second time out. He stretched out and ran last as the beaten favorite when last seen in the Grey Stakes. He adds blinkers and goes for a new barn, and Pablo Morales is a sharp local rider. He should work a decent stalking trip.
No. 5 Dreaming of Kona (5-2) easily went all the way in his local sprint debut last fall. He hit the board in his next two non-graded stakes starts, and he gets distance and class relief after a pair of unplaced efforts in Kentucky Derby points races at Tampa Bay.
No. 9 Closethegame Sugar (7-2) rallied for the win in his Saratoga turf sprint bow last summer. He returns from a lengthy layoff and should get pace to chase.
No. 4 Dangerous Game (8-1) owns a pair of all-weather wins. He ran well in a pair of Florida-bred stakes races last year and might not be out of this.
Wagers
No. 6 to win
Exacta box 5-6
Trifecta 5-6/4-5-6-9/4-5-6-9
Recent Best Bet winners
May 14 – Anarchist ($7.70)
May 16 – Templet ($19.60), exacta ($36)
May 18 – Montauk Point/Luigi's Spirit exacta ($43.80)
May 23 – Do You Love Me ($5.60)
May 25 – Alogon ($10)
Monday – Ego Man/Easy Day exacta ($18.40)
Saturday - Kalik ($7.90), trifecta ($41.80)