Ricky’s Rockets: Oaklawn Park Picks for April 17, 2020

We were right on the money with Thursday’s card but couldn’t get some photo finishes! I have a lot of coverage on Friday’s Pick 5 sequence as I couldn’t formulate any strong opinions. Hopefully Friday is better as we kick off a great weekend of racing at Oaklawn Park!

Best of luck!

Race 6: Maiden Claiming $40,000 for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles (8 1/2 furlongs) on the dirt. Purse $ 26,000

This is the first start for #8 First Citizen in Martin Rouck’s camp. He ran his best race in his career last time out on March 5 here at Oaklawn Park. In his first two starts, he faced Digital and eventual Oaklawn Stakes winner, Mr. Big News. He looked much better at the Maiden Claiming level and is poised for a big race in his new barn. #10 Smart Call comes out of a race that was very strong down at the Fair Grounds. Earner and Crystal Sphere who lost to Echo Town, both ran big races winning next time out. No one in this group is of that quality making this spot much easier for the Wayne Catalano trainee. My top choice is the Brad Cox trained #11 Shacks Way. He showed great speed out of the gate posting a :22.54 first quarter. Joe Talamo couldn’t get a hold of him on that day and proceed to lose ground following the early move. He drops into this spot facing a much softer field and the chance to go gate-to-wire in his second career start. #12 Dreamonmebaby is one of the morning-line favorites at 4/1, but he is very vulnerable from his outside post. This is his first time in for a tag for Chris Hartman, but he’s failed to show the ability to pass horses. His morning workouts are too impressive to overlook, and on the class drop, he’s a viable candidate in the opening sequence of the Pick 5.

Race 7: Claiming $8,000 for 3-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $17,500

I’m taking a major risk in this race singling #3 Summer Revoulution for Steve Asmussen. This is a 7-year-old by Summer Bird was in the Cigar Mile (G1) at Aqueduct back in 2017. He was second last time out at the Waiver Claiming $25,000 level here at Oaklawn Park. Asmussen clearly got the most out of this horse in his career, but no longer needs him in the barn. Even in for a tag, it’s highly unlikely anyone will claim him. There’s a ton of speed throughout this field giving Summer Revolution a great chance of picking off horses in the stretch.

Race 8: Allowance Optional Claiming $50,000 for 4-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $61,000

#2 Curate makes his fourth career start at Oaklawn Park for Peter Miller. He absolutely loves this track winning two out of three races lifetime. Last time out, he was a 6/5 favorite but caved in mid-way through the race. He drops slightly in class after racing on a sloppy track. His best performance is more than good enough to win. #3 Early Mischief has one way of running his races. He’s a one-turn horse who needs the lead to win. In saying this, his recipe has been very successful in the past, and he’s been in great form as of late. He will need his best effort of his career to beat this field. This race sets up perfectly for #6 Puttheglassdown, trained by Jeremiah Englehart. Puttheglassdown makes his Oaklawn Park debut as he’s spent his career in the northeast part of the country. In most six-furlong races, having a horse come from behind is a scary proposition. This is a very quick bunch and Puttheglassdown is the best closer in this field. My top choice is #8 Zipp on By. He has the ability to be on the front-end, but his best efforts come when he sits just off the pace. Mainly based in Kentucky, Zipp on By will make only his second start at Oaklawn Park. His lone effort at Oaklawn was a very impressive second on a sloppy track back in the early part of 2018.

Race 9: Rainbow Stakes for Arkansas-bred 3-year-olds going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $100,000

My top choice in this field is #10 Zaino Boyz for a multitude of reasons. The fractions that he has posted in the mornings jump off of the page. He also has the most experience of this group with seven prior starts. It will be very tough for any of these runners to keep up with him on the front end as he has supreme early speed. His only knock is that this will be his lone start at Oaklawn Park but that’s simply knit picking. Joe Talamo should enjoy riding this 3-year-old as he looks for his second win in a row. The one horse that may have a chance to knock him off is #6 Tempt Fate for Carl Deville. All of the other runners that need the lead will try and press Zaino Boyz early on. It will take a massive effort to wrangle the lead from him. If there are incredibly quick fractions early on, Tempt Fate will be there to clean up the pieces. Most bettors will single Zaino Boyz but Tempt Fate is the most logical choice if the heavy favorite falters.

Race 10: Starter Optional Claiming $16,000 for 4-year-olds and upward going 6 furlongs on the dirt. Purse $22,000

This is by far the most competitive race in the sequence and I didn’t have a very strong opinion. I went six-deep in this field and my top choice is #3 Codetowin. No matter the race, Codetowin puts in a valiant effort. He’s finished in the money in 13/15 career races making him a reliable option. He also has the ability to come from behind and pick horses off one by one. There are many logical choices in this field, but he will have modest odds and give me a chance to cap off this sequence with a decently priced horse.

THE TICKET

$.50 PICK 5 (Races 6-10) – 8,10,11,12 / 3 / 2,3,6,8 / 6,10 / 2,3,4,7,8,11 – $96

Want more Gulfstream picks? Get the Dudes’ FREE and PREMIUM picks!