Horse Racing Trader’s Tips: US Racing Preview – Friday 3rd April
Our trader Joseph Kyne gives his picks ahead of the day’s US Racing
Horse racing action continues across the pond, for now at least. There’s action from three meets, including Gulfstream Park, Golden Gate Fields and Tampa Bay Downs.
Ahead of race off, our trader has picked out his tips ahead of the Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs meetings…
Tampa Bay Downs
Samy Camacho and Antonio Gallardo are the leading jockeys on this track, and the pair are back in action here.
Camacho is in scintillating form having ridden a 927/1 four-timer last Thursday night, and it could be worth paying attention to his rides here. It doesn’t look as though he’ll be on any bankers, but all of his booked rides look to be in among the challengers.
The ace will partner Free Dancer for Gerald Bennett in the 17:53. Bennett’s runners have a 24% strike-rate so far this season, and he gives the gelding another chance to win on turf. It looked as though one mile was probably a stretch too far last time out, and the drop back in trip should play to his strengths.
Camacho booked ride: Brandt (17:24), Free Dancer (17:53), Nauti Buoy (18:52), Lady Breanna (19:22), Exchequer (19:53), Ria Munk (20:24) & Red Curls (20:55).
Gulfstream Park – Trainer/Jockey Combination
We’ve mentioned Luis Saez plenty of times recently, and we’ll mention him again. Make no mistake, that man is a winning machine.
Sauz is untouchable at the Gulfstream Park track right now, in a similar way to Frankie Dettori at Ascot, or even Adam Kirby at Lingfield.
He teams up with Gulfstream Champion trainer Todd Pletcher for three rides at this meet, and the pair look like they could end up in the winner’s enclosure on more than one occasion over the course of the evening.
The duo will be looking for success with Tapit To Ride in the last race of the evening at 22:12. The four-year-old foal is lightly raced after being purchased for $250,000 as a yearling.
The 20:39 looks to be one of the best contests of the evening, and Pletcher fields two runners in this one. He’s partnered Saez with Ellis Island with the expectation of even more improvement, although his other runner Fried Rice King has a similar level of form coming into the contest.
The pair may not have things all their own way and could face stiff competition from Chad Brown’s runner Candy Machine. The three-year-old colt wasn’t far beaten on his first outing, and a step up in trip could be the right move.
Saez/Pletcher booked runners: Ellis Island (20:39), Off Topic (21:41) & Tapit to Ride (22:12).
Race to Watch – 18:00 Gulfstream Park
It looks as though Missandei owner Stephen Hamilton may be a fan of hit show Game of Thrones, after naming his filly after one of the main characters.
The trainer doesn’t have a scorching strike-rate with newcomers, but it can still be looked at as respectable and the sale price of this horse as a yearling suggests she could be significantly better than other in the field.
However, it may take something special to beat likely favourite Princesa Crystal. Bred in Great Britain by Godolphin, this four-year-old filly has lovely pedigree and has been consistently improving.
She was only denied a first victory by a neck on her penultimate start, she should be right there at the finish.
It could be those two that fight it out on turf in the opener at Gulfstream Park which looks to be an exciting race in prospect.
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All Odds and Markets are correct as of date of publication.
