Wednesday's Best Bet: Warrant can surprise in Isaac Murphy
Wednesday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs is the $175,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon for 4-year-olds and up traveling 1 1/2 miles on the main track. The scheduled post time is 4:19 p.m. EDT.
Click here for Churchill Downs entries and results.
No. 6 Warrant (10-1) should offer value for Flavien Prat and Brad Cox. He ran well without winning in both dirt marathon tries, and I like his running style versatility. He finished a neck in front of Lone Rock in the Brooklyn last year.
No. 1 Lone Rock (5-2) has been a quality performer in long dirt races like this for quite some time. The veteran gelding can still run a bit and should attend the pace from the inside post.
No. 7 Next (8-5) cruised to big wins in his final two stakes starts of 2022. The early-pressing gelding can run all day and should make his presence felt throughout.
No. 4 Scarlet Fusion (2-1) is a relatively consistent runner exiting a graded stakes win on soft turf in Texas. He captured a local dirt marathon last fall.
Wagers
No. 6 to win
Exacta 6/1-4-7
Exacta 1-4-7/6
Trifecta 1-6-7/1-6-7/4
Recent Best Bet winners
Last Tuesday – Les Bon Temps ($6.80)
Thursday – Chipofftheoldblock ($5.40), exacta ($15.20)
Tuesday – Prove Worthy ($9.90)