All stakes selections for Arlington Million Preview Day
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Photo:
Four Footed Fotos
Scheduled 5 weeks prior to the Arlington International
Festival of Racing, the Million Preview Day is just that, a preview and a prep
for the prestigious races run annually in August at Arlington Park. This year’s Preview Day
features a quartet of Grade 3 races ranging from 1 3/16 mile to 1 ½ mile on the
turf. The graded action kicks off in the 7th race and continues
consecutively through the 10th. The four races comprise the $0.50
All Stakes Mid Pick 4, an enticing sequence that I aim to take down.
R7 Grade 3 Arlington Handicap
With a short field of 6, this could be anyone’s race to win.
Since a case can be made for any in the field, this would be a good place to
hit the “All” button. Financially, you can’t go wrong with hitting “All” in a
field of 6, and logically, it is a good spot to make sure you have all your
bases covered as the morning line odds range from 2-1 to 10-1. If you twist my
arm and make me choose just one, I have to go with Admiral Kitten. The Michael Maker trained 4-year old colt likes
both the distance and the Arlington turf. Though his recent form hasn’t been
great, in losing, he’s not getting completely blown out of the water.
R8 Grade 3 Stars and Stripes Stakes
In complete contrast to the previous race, I had a hard time
finding a entrant that screamed “winner.” In the end, I went with The Pizza
Man, Suntracer, and Mister Marti Gras. The Pizza Man is very good at Arlington, compiling a 9: 6-1-1 record over the
track’s turf course. He has a nice 3rd place finish at the 1 ½ mile
distance and enters in great form, riding a 3 race win streak. Suntracer is also familiar with the
Arlington course and the 12 furlong distance. Though he only has one win from
12 starts at Arlington and no wins going 12 panels, he ran a bang up 2nd,
by a head, going this distance in his last start and has been training well at
Arlington. Mister Marti Gras,
cross-entered in the Arlington Handicap, looks to be in a bit over his head in
this spot but has the class to compensate for the added distance. He may not
run, however, as trainer Chris Block has indicated that he’s leaning toward the
Arlington ‘Cap over this race.
R9 Grade 3 American Derby
For 3-year olds, the American Derby drew an interesting cast
of 10. My top selection here is Our Channel, a 3-year old chestnut son of English Channel. He takes a huge drop
in class from his last start in which he finished 13th, beaten 18
lengths, behind Australia in the
Group 1 Investec Derby at Epsom. Prior to that he won the 10 furlong Investec
Derby Trial. At 6-1 on the morning line, he is a juicy prospect. Afortable enters off a nice 3rd
place finish in the G3 Arlington Classic back in May. With no real pace to
close into, being beaten by only 1 ¾ lengths looks really good in retrospect.
Also getting a class break is Divine Oath. He’s faced some tough competition in his last two, and if he runs to
his current form, he could prove tough.
R10 Grade 3 Modesty Handicap
The only graded stake carded just for the ladies, the
Modesty drew an overflow field of 15. With a slew of longshots included, it
wasn’t hard to narrow things down. I’m Already Sexy topped my list. She’s unbeaten at Arlington and impossible to
pass up if her odds stay around her 8-1 morning line numbers. She comes in 3rd
off the layoff and ran 2nd, beaten by ¾-length, last out. Making her
first start in more than 8 months, Tabreed
should be ready to roll for trainer Christophe Clement. She likes a good route
of ground and gets Joe Bravo in the irons. White Rose, with Bill Mott and Julien Leparoux in her corner, looks mighty
dangerous at ML odds of 9-2. She ran an excellent winning race last out but
jumps up in class for this spot. She’s been training forwardly and looks ready
to handle the challenge.
Ticket 1:
ALL/2,3,7/2,7,10/6,13,14 = $81
Ticket 2:
ALL/3,7/2,7,10/6,13,14 = $54
Ticket 3: 1/3,7/2,7,10/6,13,14
= $9
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