Sunday’s allowance feature at Laurel Park drew a field of only a half dozen but handicappers will be hard pressed to separate Daphne Moon (9-5), Landing Zone (7-5) and Quiet Company (4-1).
Each have plusses and minuses and, further, it doesn’t appear the race shape is going to seriously compromise any of them. Small field’s are rider’s races by definition and the jocks are sure to play this one off the break.
Landing Zone is the favorite on the strength of his Thoro-Graph figure two back and Claudio Gonzalez tightening the girth but he looks worth trying to beat at the expected prohibitive odds.
If class is the measure it’s Daphne Moon. The barn thought enough to try graded company at two, he returned this spring, paired up good enough then went to the shelf. But here’s the good news.
Jeremiah Englehart is effective with 90-days+ layups, he won coming off a similar break this spring, and returns sharp given a solid half mile that impressed New York clockers before shipping south. Trevor McCarthy takes the call; very live.
But the attraction is Quiet Company, the “now” horse off an NX1 but against lesser rivals than he meets here but did it the right way, the spacing is good for potential repeaters, and has enough speed to control pace.
We’ll take the value, but only at 4-1 or greater, and an exacta box with Daphne Moon. If the 4YO doesn’t meet the odds restrictions, we’re going to pass on the straight bet and live with the exacta box.
