USTA Play of the Day

by Michael Carter

Hawthorne Race Course Race 8 (Pick 4)
Date: 8/31/2018 Carryover: $0  Guarantee: $20,000

Ticket: 2,3,6/ALL(9)/5,8/4,5,9– Cost: $81.00 (.50 cent base)

Yesterday’s Recap – We only had one correct selection in the Pick 4 yesterday and it was a $32.00 winner as Luke Plano and Mystical Wally made up a lot of ground to draw off and win decisively.  The Pick 4 of 4/8/5/3 returned $1,391.65.

Breakdown:

Race 8: #2 HERECOMESMAGOTTA had a couple of tough starts at Springfield and has taken a little bit of time off.  He returns to the site of his last victory where he made up a ton of ground and had to come three-wide to score.  Look for him to be close to the pace against this group.  #3 IMA SCRAPPY SCAPER got a terrible trip last week and still only missed by 3 ½ lengths.  He has some early speed to contend with and the post-improvement should really play to his advantage here.  #6 JUST MY KINDA GUY is another colt in the race who has a good amount of speed and is facing older horses again this week.  Last week he made the lead before tiring late in the trip.  Look for him to try to recover from that here.

Race 9: We hit the ALL button here, but that is because any of the nine horses could score the victory here.  My top pick is #2 RISING TO THE TOP who really likes to pass horses, and that is something that I really like to see in horses.  He draws the inside this week and that could very well play to his advantage.

Race 10: #5 SHADY’S DREAM BOY got a really tough trip last week getting stung to the first quarter and tiring in the end.  Throw that race out and look for improvement this week.  The addition of Casey Leonard should make the difference tonight.  #8 BETWEEN ME AND YOU was a strong winner last week in the slop.  He showed speed in the effort, got the perfect trip and drew off to win.  Look for another game performance here.

Race 11: #4 EXTRAVAGANT ART gets Wilfong back in the bike tonight for trainer Nelson Willis.  He has a good amount of speed and is one of the fastest closers in the race, looking for a big trip.  #5 DELIGHT FASHION could very well be the price play of the sequence tonight, last week he was impeded turning for home and still managed to close a little bit on the leaders.  With a better trip today he could score.  #9 STARLITE KID closed gamely last week and got the perfect trip off cover, just missing in the end.  Post nine might make things a little tough, but I think he has enough speed to get into the mix early.