CHARLES TOWN PICKS AND HORSES TO WATCH: October 1
Frank Vespe
October 1, 2021
Charles Town Races has an eight-race card on tap for this evening. Post time for the opener is 7:00 p.m., and we’ve got Charles Town picks.
Carryovers: Jackpot Pick 6, $63,930
- Colonial Downs: Latest jockey and trainer stats
Which Colonial Downs jockeys and trainers are having a good meet? Who’s doing better than you’d think? Or heating up now? Answers within.
| RACE NUMBER | CONTENDERS | COMMENTS |
| Race 1 | 3-5-4-1 | Betting this 4 1/2-furlong maiden contest pretty much turns on what sort of odds you’d find acceptable on the favorite, #5 Eye of the Needle (4-5). Her speed figs are clearly the best of the group, and her record demonstrates she can compete at this level. The bad news: she’s lost three straight locally while going off at even-money once and 3-10 twice. Also worth considering is that she’ll be shortening up from two turns to one, her first time going 4 1/2 locally. In her only prior very-short sprint try, going 5 furlongs at Pimlico in her debut, she seemed a bit outfooted early before rallying a bit late. Can she win here? Yes, of course. Will she? She’s the most likely winner, but the combination of a distance change and her trio of losses as the fave make it impossible to accept the odds she’ll likely go off at. By all means, keep her in your multi-race bets, but let’s see if there’s any value to be had… We landed on #3 Cherokee Castle (9-2) to aim for the upset. The first-timer is a homebred for Law Legacy Stables and Ronney Brown, who also trains her. Brown’s having a productive season, does pretty well with debut runners, and here teams up with Christian Hiraldo, who’s winning at a 38% clip for the trainer in the last two months. This miss is showing a bullet gate work among her four recorded works… #4 Just Ask Me (3-1) won at this level three back but was DQed for a medication violation. Her two since are just OK… #1 Denali d’Oro (15-1) is a first-timer for trainer William Straughn. He’s by young sire Mio d’Oro (who’s by Medaglia d’Oro) out of a winning Langfuhr mare… |
| Race 2 | 5-2-1-3 | Several of the half-dozen runners in this allowance/optional claimer want the front, which suggests a horse who can sit off the pace and make a run, and that leads us to #5 Rookie Salsa (8-5). The Claudio Gonzalez trainee is set to make his third start of the season, and he ran a good one last out when second at 13-1 in a claimer at Monmouth. As a two-year-old, this guy was a stakes winner, and while that doesn’t seem likely to come around again, he’s had occasional moments since… #2 Golden Answer (7-5) won nicely at this level last out in front-running fashion. He generally doesn’t need the front, but drawn inside the other speed and with only a closer to his inside, he may not have much choice here. If any of the early sorts survives, it’s likely to be this one… #1 Gaming Jack (12-1) may not be quite good enough to win here but does figure to be running at the end… #3 Pool Boy Charlie (4-1) didn’t show much last out when wide throughout. Look for him to be much more involved early in this spot… |
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rick be
01st Oct 20211st.If Frank didn’t choose this race,
I certainly would not have.But I will stick the”Eye Of The Needle”
in the top slot.
2nd.I think”Auburn Mill”will get into the Tri,
so why not thrown her in the box with”Rookie Salsa”
and “Gaming Jack”who likes this track.
rick be
01st Oct 20215th.I have a “Brilliant Idea”
let’s bet all we got and see
“Hard To Be Me”flee.