Oaklawn Park Pick 5 Picks: April 2, 2020

We just missed last Sunday’s Pick 5 by one leg which paid out $3,972.80! Luckily for us, there is another great card on tap which plenty of opportunities to make some money. I’ve previewed the Pick 5 sequence (Races 5-9) as always, but I’ve also included my Best Bet and Best Longshot in the early part of the card. 

Best of luck!

Race 5: Claiming $50,000-$45,000 for 3-years-old and upward going 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. Purse $35,000

This is not the first race for #3 Caribbean under Robertino Diodoro. On February 14, he graduated from the maiden ranks. He posted his highest speed figure in his career under Diodoro who seems to get the best out of him. Caribbean takes a step up in class today, but he should be positioned well by David Cohen in the early going. It’s hard to make #5 Jay Vee Bee my top choice when his trainer hasn’t won a race so far this spring at Oaklawn Park. However, the longer the distance, the better for this 4-year-old colt by Data Link. Tyler Baze is back aboard after two straight second place efforts on him here at Oaklawn. 

Race 6: Allowance for Arkansas bred for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $61,000

A lot of top contenders in this group ran and lost to Matapan last time out on March 1. I ended up landing on the third-place finisher, #2 Savedbyanagel as a horse to include. She started off well and maintained a close distance to Matapan but no one was beating Matapan on that day. She is the most logical choice in this field as she stayed close throughout. I expect Joe Talamo to place her right off the lead with a chance to close down the front-runners in the stretch. #6 Lil Tater was absolutely dominant in her last start as she broke her maiden status. She did it against much weaker competition but her time of 1:11.57 was close to what Matapan posted in her win. Walter De La Cruz also let her jog the final 50 yards or so, indicating she had plenty left in the tank. I’m not sure she can replicate that performance but if she does, watch out!

Race 7: Claiming $20,000 for 4-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $25,000

It’ll be interesting to see which of the Robertino Diodoro runners make this field or if potentially both stay in the field. I prefer #1A Control Stake over #1 Leory as the 8-year-old is much more accomplished. David Cohen has been on him before when he faced much better competition here at Oaklawn. He takes a big drop in class today and should fare much better against this group. #7 Rockshaw drops into this race with very different running lines. He’s shown the ability to wear horses down in the stretch. His workouts in the mornings suggest Ramon Vasquez will put him toward the lead as his most recent workout was a brisk 3 furlongs in :36.60. He should be a luke-warm favorite as he makes only his second start in 2020.

Race 8: Allowance Optional Claiming $80,000 for 3-year-old fillies going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $61,000.

This is the most difficult race in the sequence as I gave myself as much coverage as I could. I’ll start with the morning-line favorite, #10 Misty Blue who is also my top choice. She’s on a two-race win streak for Mike Maker who has gotten the best out of her in 2020. She’s 2/2 here at Oaklawn and will look to make it 3/3 as she steps up in class. #7 Raggedy Annie faced much better in the Honeybee Stakes back on March 7^th. She never did much running and was in way too deep over her head. In this class on February 20, she was very close but couldn’t catch Kiss the Girl at the wire. The D Wayne Lukas trained filly makes a lot of sense in this spot. #9 Jade d’Oro didn’t run as a 2-year-old, but has made an immediate impact for Steve Asmussen as a 3-year-old. She lost in this class last time out on March 8 and had the lead early on. A :21.94 first quarter lead to her demise as she finished a distant third. The pace will be hot again today, but Ricardo Santana Jr. will do a much better job rating her this time around. Brad Cox brings #11 Josie to Oaklawn Park for the first time in her career. At the beginning of her career, she showed supreme gate speed and made her competitors run her race. As she’s entered better fields, she’s been tasked to try and win from behind. She tends to break a little slowly out of the gate which makes her job that much tougher. Assuming she can break cleanly, she will be tough to beat.

Race 9: Waiver Claiming $40,000-$35,000 for 4-years-old and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $33,000

There are two horses in the finale on today’s card that stick out above the rest. #3 Pete’s Play Call finished second in a $50,000 claiming event just a little over two weeks ago. He hadn’t shown a lot of early speed prior to that effort, but the muddy track conditions helped propel him to the front. Martin Garcia must make sure the other runners in this group don’t get away, otherwise it will be very difficult to close. My top choice is #8 Lawton for Karl Broberg. Lawton will make his debut for Broberg, who was claimed out of the Bret Calhoun barn after last race on January 30 at the Fair Grounds. Lawton has run predominately on turf but has shown success on the dirt. On January 4 at the Fair Grounds, and November 7, 2019 at Remington Park, he won for fun on an off track. Karl Broberg is also winning at 28% with runners off the claim and 28% with runners who have won their last start in the last 365 days. There are a lot of things to like about Lawton here in this spot.

Best Bet: Race 3 #3 Elevententeetime

Best Longshot: Race 4 #1 Convince

THE TICKET

$0.50 PICK 5 – 3,5 / 2,6 / 1/1A,7,11 / 7,9,10,11,13 / 3,8 – $60

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