With pickings on the slim side today in Hallandale, the finale featuring maiden claimers on turf going one mile appears a likely spot to find some value.
Early second favorite Leveau (3-1) lacks experience and while the filly has nurture in her corner, nature seems to be lacking as her pedigree does not necessarily scream grass. We’ll leave her out of the number.
Three others hold our interest here: Favorite Big Bee (5-2), picking up Paco Lopez for David Fawkes; Downburst (5-1), switching to Saez for the live Rohan Crichton barn, and price shot Marini’s Amica (20-1), benefitting from a barn change.
Downburst returns to turf after three straight synthetic runs at the proper level and owns good early speed which will be very useful breaking from the extreme outside; Saez knows how to do this.
In the aforementioned turf run, she raced on the pace throughout, was seriously challenged for the lead and was out-headed entering the learn, but she fought back gamely as the pace was heating up.
She was narrowly beaten for place in a quickly run final quarter mile, the winner enjoying a perfect pocket trip behind embattled leaders: See Gulfstream Park, MAY 15, Race 5 to verify.
The spacing is good into this and she drill a fast five furlongs on turf at Palm Meadows two works back and is all set for a top effort.
Taking Downburst to win at 3-1 or greater, key her on top of super exotics and, given early line odds, making a three-ply exacta box with two rivals named above.
