Super Screener: Grand Aspen is a live long shot in Pegasus

For the horses, the road to the Kentucky Derby really gets going next week with four points races across the country. But for handicappers, the road can start this week thanks to Horse Racing Nation's $97 Super Screener offer covering every weekend through the Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Not only do you get Super Screener every week for the next 15 weeks but also Horse Racing Nation's Power Picks and Horses to Single Reports every day for all tracks. And if you take advantage of this offer this week, you'll get the full Pro Reports package for Pegasus World Cup day on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Speaking of the Pegasus World Cup (G1), thanks to the early draw, Mike Shutty already has screened it and the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1). More races will be added to this week's report, but for now it is exciting to see that Shutty has identified a long-shot play in the richest race between the Breeders' Cup and Kentucky Derby.

"Trainer Todd Pletcher will have three horses in the Pegasus field, and it is the lightly raced 5-year-old Grand Aspen that scores highest here," Shutty writes of the 12-1 morning-line chance. "In the local prep for this race, the Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday, he did all the dirty work in the early stages of the race and took the lead in the final turn before barely getting outkicked by the pace-advantaged O'Connor. He has worked forwardly since that contest and should appreciate the push back out to 1 1/8 miles."

Super Screener calls Grand Aspen its top value while identifying another runner-up in his last start, no. 8 First Mission, as the most reliable board hitter. Absent from any touting is morning-line favorite National Treasure, who happens to be the only Grade 1 winner in the race.

Each race in Super Screener receives detailed analysis as well as a wagering strategy, and Shutty is certainly going for it in the Pegasus, identifying only exotic plays as the opportunity here, and none of those plays include National Treasure in the top two positions.

This week's Super Screener already includes both the Pegasus World Cup and Pegasus World Cup Turf, and stay turned for additional stakes from across the country this and every week with that $97 offer through the Derby.