Saturday's Best Bet: Serve the King delivers in Red Smith
Saturday’s 9th race from Aqueduct is the Grade 2 Red Smith Stakes for three-year-olds and up traveling a mile and three-eighths on the turf course (Post Time 3:43 p.m. EST).
No. 4 SERVE THE KING (3-1) is a five-year-old horse with just ten career outings, and he appears to be on the upswing for Chad Brown. He won a couple of allowance events last year and placed in two stakes including the Monmouth (G3). He finished 4th in his first two graded stakes outings this year, and removed lasix and won the John’s Call at Saratoga Aug. 25. He was 2nd to his stablemate Rockemperor in the Turf Classic (G1) Oct. 9, and he did well to land the place in that slow early/fast late affair. Irad Ortiz Jr. rides him well and he should get some pace to chase.
No. 10 Price Talk (8-1) was claimed out of a $50k win at Saratoga Aug. 13 by Tony Dutrow, and he clicked right back in a fast optional claiming affair at Belmont Park Sept. 25. The lightly raced, improving four-year--old gelding gets a class and distance test, and he should offer value.
No. 3 Soldier Rising (5-1) is a sophomore gelding taking on older rivals for the first time. He tried to rally wide as the favorite from the outside post in the Hill Prince (G2), but the pace was slow to develop and that race was too short for him. He won a turf marathon in France in the spring, and shipped to this country and was 2nd in the Saratoga Derby (G1) Aug. 7. State of Rest (IRE) won that event and clicked right back in the Cox Plate (G1) Oct. 23. In his next turf start in New York, he completed the exacta in the Jockey Club Derby, and winner Yibir (GB) came right back to take the BC Turf (G1).
No. 9 No Word (8-1) might enjoy this longer trip for Todd Pletcher. He was a decent sophomore last year with quality underneath finishes in the stakes ranks behind the likes of Domestic Spending and Gufo. He has only started three times this year including a runner-up finish in the Bernard Baruch (G2), and he has room for improvement as distances increase.
No. 5 Shamrocket (6-1) frequently finds his way into the trifecta and Pletcher’s sharp colt exits a win in the Point of Entry Stakes. He can get a piece of this.
No. 2 Value Engineering (8-1) is always in the top three for Chad Brown. This is his first career stakes try and he looked good winning an optional claiming affair at Belmont Park Oct. 21.
Get my Expert Del Mar picks for today’s races
Wagers:
No. 4 to win
Exacta 4/3-10
Exacta 3-10/4
Trifecta 3-4-10/2-3-4-5-9-10/2-5
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