CIGAR MILE: A FIELD OF ELEVEN SLATED TO GO; ANALYSIS; SELECTIONS

By Rick Francis —-

AQUEDUCT

Race 10) 1 Mile. Cigar Mile H. Grade I. Purse $750,000 A HANDICAP FOR THREE YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD
Post Time: ( 4:16)/ 3:16/ 2:16/ 1:16

1) Whitmore (Moquett/Rosario); veteran exits a willing third in the BC Sprint, his fourth board finish of 2019; this definitely is not his preferred distance but his late runs make him an exotics possibility.

2) Bal Harbour (Pletcher/Velazquez); 4-year-old was caught late in the Grade 1 Woodward two back, his fifth top three finish from six 2019 starts, yet none ended in the winners circle. The turnback to the mile helps, but always close is just that always close.

3) Forewarned (St. Lewis/Salgado); though he’s tasted Grade 1 company before, he’s better served on the Ohio circuit where he’s a stakes winner.

4) Pat On the Back (Englehart/Davis); his G2 Kelso score confirms this Congrats 5-year-old as not just a New York stakes player; he was game in this contest a year ago only to weaken late and finish fifth; I wouldn’t be quick to overlook this guy.

5) Maximum Security (Servis/Saez); first across the line in the Kentucky Derby, this New Year’s Day colt is once again showing that winning that has led to back-to-back graded wins, the G1 Haskell and last out cutting back to sprinting taking the Grade 3 Bold Ruler. Regardless of whom saddles up against him, this 3-year-old can wire this field.

6) Spun to Run (Guerrero/Ortiz, I.); dominated the BC Dirt Mile, his second straight victory at the distance. Though this Hard Spun colt is a perfect 3-for-3 at the mile route, he’s winless here in two starts and that’s why I’m giving the edge to his inside foe. Nevertheless, he’s got to be used in ALL wagers.

7) Nicodemus (Rice/Franco); exits a “vanned-off” start; passing.

8) Network Effect (Brown/Castellano); the first of two from the always dangerous Chad Brown barn; exits a win over first level allowance company and in these spots, the training angles in play for Brown are well over 20 percent.

9) Looking At Bikinis (Brown/Ortiz, J.); ditto to the above.

10) Tale of Silence (Tagg/Alvarado); is a 2-time winner at the mile but wins this year have been slim (6 0-2-1).

11) True Timber (McLaughlin/Bravo); enters off a pair of show efforts to a couple of these; connections will take that today.

Selections: 5, 6, 4, 1