Handicapper's Corner: 2023 Whitmore Stakes (G3)

 Looking for an edge in the Whitmore Stakes

By: Robert Marks (@theyreinthegate)

Saturday at 5:22 pm Eastern time is the $200,000 Grade 3 Stakes for 4-year-olds and upward on dirt at 6 furlongs at Oaklawn Racetrack. 

On a quiet weekend for Derby Prep races, this will be a good race to dive into with a fairly large field of ten.  The NCAA 2nd round will have games all day Saturday, but take a break from the hoops and put some coins on the Whitmore Stakes

Named after multiple Graded Stakes and Breeders Cup winner, Whitmore, this would be a nice notch on the belt for anyone who could win this race.

 

Here is a look at who we will be betting:

Running out of the 2-hole, Tejano Twist is your morning line favorite (3-1).  This 4 year old gelding comes off a 2nd place performance losing by 4 lengths to Gunite at Oaklawn. Tejano Twist rallied late moving from 4th to 2nd down the stretch. Gunite is not here, as he went to Dubai after that race so Tejano deserves a strong look.  Miles Ahead and Flash of Mischief ran 3rd and 4th in the same race. Don’t see how they move up in this race.

Edge to Edge, at 4-1, is 2-2 over this course and distance. He will be on the front end as he runs a get out front and catch me style.

Cogburn, (7-2) trained by Steve Asmussen, has 2 wins out of 3 starts at Oaklawn with his last win allowance race at Oaklawn where he regained the lead late and held on for 1st.

Spankster (8-1) came in 3rd, about ¾ length back of Cogburn. Spankster followed that up with an Allowance Optional Claiming win at Oaklawn Racetrack showing an nice kick passing 2 horses in the stretch to win. Assmussen also has a 2nd horse in here, Morello, but he is too inconsistent for me to pick him.

Seems like this race will set up for horses finishing late. I look for Edge to Edge to be your early leader out front, setting fast fractions. We also think Empire Gold and Pirate Rick will be out front. Cogburn may be there early also, be Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. can get him to rate, this may set him for a placing finish.

We see a very fast early pace with a combination of Cogburn, Tejano Twist and Spankster battling late for the wire. If we can get Spankster at 8-1 on top, we can cash decently.

Bets: $100 dollar Budget

$50-win Spankster

$2 Trifecta Box: Cogburn, Tejano Twist, Spankster (total bet $48)