Interesting maiden claimer going two turns on the grass on the Tampa Bay Saturday program and it appears that early line favorite Rumeli (5-2) is going to be a tough out. He simply has too many things going for him here.
For openers, he’s dropping into a claimer for the first time, a 28% scenario for Michael Stidham, who has enjoyed a strong winter in Oldsmar. Beyond that, his spacing is perfect and he will de debuting as a gelding this afternoon, and rider Tomas Mejia is as underrated a grass rider as there is in Northern Florida.
The clincher is that he moves inside after encountering a tough trip from post 10 last out, losing considerable ground into the clubhouse turn then got caught in a bit of turbulence while between horses entering the far turn. He rallied into contention but weakened late with legitimate excuses.
See for yourself on the TAMPA BAY TODAY video, RACE 10 on JAN 23, to see if you agree with our assessment.
Meanwhile, we’re taking Rumeli to win, no price restrictions, and key-boxing exactas with Dynablue (7-2), also meeting weaker, as is Searching for Gold (9-2).
