Oaklawn Park Pick 5 Picks: March 28, 2020

While Gulfstream Park will garner most of the national attention due to the Florida Derby (as it should), Oaklawn Park also has a great 10 race card. Yesterday’s 50 cent Pick 5 paid over $3,100 dollars! Today is another chance to cash a ticket and put some money in your pockets. Today’s Pick 5 includes today’s featured race: the Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes. 

Best of luck!

Race 6: Starter Allowance $50,000 for fillies and mares for 4-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $36,000

This is one of the tougher legs in the Pick 5 sequence as a multitude of runners are worthy of strong consideration. #4 Ready to Runaway was on a tear at Canterbury Park toward the end of 2019. McLean Robertson brought her to Keeneland followed by a race Oaklawn and ran a very respectable third in both of those efforts. At a good price, she must be included on all multi-race wagers. My top pick in this group of eight is #6 Headland. She’s been facing much tougher competition as of late and looks very formidable on paper. She’s also won 4/5 of her career efforts here at Oaklawn and figures to be a part of the race early on as she looks to dictate the pace. Another worthy candidate in this field is #7 Caliente Candy. She faced Headland in her last start but ran out of time as she was forced very wide. She is a major player in here if she can repeat that performance. Speed to her inside should help as the race progresses and in the latter stages of the race.

Race 7: Starter Allowance $12,500 for 4-year-olds and upward going 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. Purse $23,000

#4 Slick Silver comes into this race on a five-race win streak. One can argue those fields at Hawthorne weren’t all that difficult to navigate through, but she dominated and did it with ease. Brittany Vanden Berg will make her debut at Oaklawn in 2020 and has every right to feel confident with this one. The most logical horse and my top pick is #6 Carlos Sixes. He stalked Herbie the entire way and willed his way to the winners’ circle. He is 2/2 at Oaklawn Park and will look to make it 3/3 under Richard Eramia’s commands. It’s important to note he outdueled fellow runner Dangerfield late and showed just how powerful he can be in the stretch.

Race 8: Allowance for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward going 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt. Purse $62,000

#1 Comical did not have the best 3-year-old debut of all time, but I’m going to give her a pass. After winning her first two career starts, she has failed to reach the winners’ circle. However, it’s no shame to lose out powerhouses like: Bast, British Idiom, and Donna Veloce. Look for her to bounce back in a big way here. Robertino Diodoro brings #3 Ready Orb Not back to the track after a dominating effort just two weeks ago. She closed with ease on a muddy track here at Oaklawn. Diodoro bringing his filly back so quickly after winning by four lengths tells me all I need to know. Steve Asmussen brings #8 Magic Dance to Oaklawn Park for the first time in her career after not running in over seven months. The most impressive race of her career was her third-place effort in the Grade II Adirondack Stakes. She stumbled very badly and clearly was compromised. She briefly took the lead but could not hold off Perfect Alibi. Asmussen is confident she’s over that bone bruise she suffered and looks poised to make a strong return to the track.

Race 9: Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes. Purse $100,000

It’s very difficult to pinpoint a clear-cut runner in here as many of these horses have beaten each other in the past. I will start with the Borel duo, #3 K J’s Nobility. He’s won two out of his last three here at Oaklawn and the one misstep was on a muddy track, making it very difficult for him to close. He is a very logical choice with the hopes of a very quick pace early on. Another deep closer in this field who caught my attention is #5 Bandit Point. He was very wide in his last start but caught J. E.’s Handmedown at the wire. Robert Cline brings him back after running on March 12 just 16 days ago. In this race last year, he went off at 41/1 and ran a very respectable third. My top choice is one of the few in this race with early speed, #6 Hoonani Road. It’s very rare that a 6-furlong sprint has a lot of closers but that’s the case in this stakes race. Hoonani Road failed to win at 2/5 last time out as he faced heavy traffic problems. He had traffic problems in the stretch which compromised his chances of winning that race. All three of these runners make sense and will look to claim victory in the 2020 edition of the Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes.

Race 10: Starter Allowance $8,000 for 4-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt

The two most likely winners come from the far outside. #10 Scrutinizer is the quickest of the bunch as he’s a pure speedster. He needs the lead to win and he usually gets it. Walter De La Cruz is 3/3 on Scrutinizer and knows exactly how to get him to the wire first. He should be the post-time favorite as he looks to continue his spectacular form. #11 Chief of Staff will not be claimed today after getting claimed three times in a row. No matter the trainer, he has performed very well as an 8-year-old. Since coming back to Oaklawn Park in 2020, he continues to look better and better with each and every start. He will take a step up from the claiming ranks today, but looks ready for the class jump. Will Terry Thompson force Chief of Staff to chase Scrutinzer early on? The answer to that question will most likely determine the winner of the final race on the card.

THE TICKET – 

$.50  PICK 5 – 4,6,7 / 4,6 / 1,3,8  / 3,5,6 / 10,11 = $54

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