Wednesday’s featured seventh race is a good one, a contentious preliminary allowances/ optional good a flat mile, offering an excellent mix of younger and veteran runners from capable hands. Anyone fortunate enough to land on the winner will not be short-changed, they will get paid.
In Hercules (4-1), youth shall be served. The gelded three-year-old finally gets back to doing what he does best, run a flat mile on the Hallandale oval, a double threat as a Horse for Course (4-for-10) and a flat-mile specialist which has won half his six starts at today’s trips.
Making his third start off a layup, a profitable 17% scenario for trainer Juan Alvarado, he turns back with conditioning off a pair of hot-paced two-turn routes [see Gulfstream Race 10, NOV 6] over the demanding Tapeta surface and now gets back on dirt where he can scoot away from a favorable outside post and it will be up to Tyler to carry him the rest of the way.
Fitness will not be an issue. Taking Hercules to win at 7-2 or greater, and exacta box with classy Todd Pletcher trainee Liam (3-1), and adding uncoupled Arindel stablemate Gump (6-1) and sharp class-rising price shot Menelik (10-1)
