Handicapper's Corner: Fort Lauderdale Stakes (G2)

Picks and Plays for Gulfstream's Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G2)

By: John Caro, S. FL Thorofan

Welcome back to Florida for the winter meet. And the weather is lovely with dipping temperatures in the mornings and sunny skies. Geez, I wish everyone could come out and play, but that is not happening. I miss all my racing friends and going to Payson Park and Gulfstream this time of year. Having said that, we as fans have been very fortunate to have a sport that has been resilient throughout this terrible pandemic. Let’s all be cautious as we pass through this darkness and come out the other side.

On to racing. Great track, great horses, trainers, and jockeys. And who doesn’t love a turf race? We have some classy horses and some horses with little or no experience at this level but are far from pretenders given their records. Let see the field starting with my top picks.

 

#10 Halladay – Pletcher/Saez – He’s a War Front out of a Tapit mare last winning the Four Star Dave at Saratoga. He’s in love with this track, winning three for three, and Saez was up for the last two wins here, one of which was from post 10. Downside is Halladay has not gone the distance, but his breeding says he should have no issues. Win contender.

#9 Factor This – Cox/Ortiz, J – Who can argue with a horse that’s a $1.2M winner? Scratch through his last race when bobbled and bothered at the start. A clean trip makes him a top contender, and he’s won three of five with a second-place finish at the distance. And Brad Cox, well this might be the only entry he had at the BC Races that didn’t win?!!! Win contender.

#1 Somelikeithotbrown – Maker/Gaffalione – With few exceptions, he is in the money. He likes it on or near the front when he wins, and he draws the rail. In the money contender.

#2 Delaware – Brown/Ortiz, IJ – A Frankel baby who has been going shorter but came off the layoff well to miss by a neck in his return. The workouts look stellar, and he got the country’s leading jock up for today. Seems to be a closer, which might be to his disadvantage at Gulfstream with a fast track and front runners who can sustain the pace.

 

Longshots in abundance…..

#6 Largent – Pletcher/Lopez – Hasn’t faced graded company, but his record cannot be ignored. He can rate behind the pace and Paco has been the hot hand here right behind Irad Ortiz.

#7 Tide of the Sea – Maker/Bravo – His front running style and going shorter might upset the top contender’s plans. Jersey Joe is aggressive in his play and no doubt will try to stretch them out or play walk along if he gets to the front.

#3 Doswell – Tagg/Alvarado – On paper his speed figures don’t match others but his record says he can be ITM, and given his ML odds I’ll have to play him. Junior knows how to get things done.

#5 Channel Cat – Sisterson/Lanerie – He was on a training break from April until October. It’s been a long break after the move to Sisterson’s barn. Is that the same Sisterson that was tearing everybody up at Kentucky Downs? I think so. You don’t get 15-1 ML odds on classy horses like this often, and they are worth a close look. I’ll be watching the post parade.

The #8 Spooky Channel – Lynch/Leparoux – Leparoux has pulled off two wins with this mount coming from far back. One of which was here in the McKnight G3 at 36-1. 

#3 Breaking the Rules – McGaughey/Zayas – I get the need to compete, but he seems uninspiring to me. Nothing jumps off the page.

 

Handigambling….

$0.50 Trifecta – 10, 9 with 10, 9, 3, 5, 6 with All $32

$1 Exacta Box - 10, 9, 3, 5, 6  $20

$9 Win bets on 3, 5, 6, 7  $36

If you want to bet just the longshots let’s play $5-8 on them to Win depending on their odds and make a $1 Exacta Box ticket with 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. The reward will be handsome and the layout is about $50.

Hope everyone enjoys the race and has a great holiday season being safe along the way. Hope our 2020 vision is better in 2021….