Tom Leach

Tom Leach is “the Voice of the Wildcats” for football and men’s basketball and a contributor to Keeneland.com as well. He is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for radio coverage of thoroughbred racing. During race meets, check out Keeneland’s You Tube channel for his trainer and jockey interviews ahead of major stakes races and listen for the weekly “In The Money” podcast with Tom and Jim Goodman at keenelandselect.com. You can follow Tom’s coverage of the Cats at tomleachky.com




Saturday, April 20, 2013

Race 1:  Psalm Singer (8) is the choice off the class drop and a solid work over the Keeneland surface.  Soot Z (6) is the next most logical contender with Hidden Cove (3) worth a look for a price.                  EXACTA BOX:  8-6-3

Race 2:  looking at the outside horses here, starting with St. Armands (7), who ran well earlier in the meet and could do even better with that effort under his belt.  Fleurdefortyfour (9) and Sir Jock (8) are also strong contenders so any of those three could prevail.  EXACTA BOX:  7-9-8

Race 3:  Miss Clark County (9) ran well here last fall and a repeat of that effort would get the win here.  Little Sheba (8) and Bye Bye Bunting (7) are also capable of winning this, so like race 2, this is one where there's no clear cut favorite so a 3-way box might be the way to go.  EXACTA BOX:  9-8-7

Race 4:  Timeless Indy (10) comes out one of those tough Gulfstream Park turf races and looks hard to beat here for Mott and Smith.  I'll try to find value in getting a decent price in the second spot.  EXACTAS:  key 10 over 3,6,8

Race 5:  Myhorseofcourse (2) finds a softer spot here and has experience at this marathon distance, plus the trainer is having a good meet with limited starters.  Grandstand (4) is the one to beat so I one of these two getting the win.  EXACTA BOX:  2-4-7

Race 6:  a wide open race and I'll go with Southern Parkway (5) because of her affinity for this course and her trainer's record at this meet.  Big Blue Spirit (8) could certainly win this and Which Market (9) is worth a look, too.  EXACTA BOX:  5-8-9

Race 7:  Awesome Flower (4) looked good in winning on opening weekend here and now moves up in class, suggesting the trainer is trying to strike while the iron is hot with a horse in top form.  I'm keying Awesome Flower to win this  and hoping for a price  horse in the second spot.  EXACTA KEY:  4 over 5,7,8

Race 8:  Sensible Lady (5) excels in these turf sprints and she's shown good form here and she runs well off a layoff.  Kiss in the Forest (10) has won here and has a sharp recent work so don't sleep on this one that is 10-1 on the ML.  I think one of those two wins this so I'll try and exacta play keying that pair on top and add a couple of others in the second spot.  EXACTAS KEYING 5,10 over 5,10, 2, 9, 8

Race 9:  Winning Cause (1) looked sensational in a win earlier in the meet and Pletcher is good with these kinds of moves but I'm going with Cerro (8), on the belief that he's played a tougher schedule.  Plus, he's trained well here.  The filly, Pure Fun (11), is a viable win candida9te, too, but may get hung wide from that post.  If forced to pick one of the three, I'd go with Cerro but the play here is a 3-horse box.  EXACTA BOX:   8-1-11

Race 10:  New Believer loves this track but didn't look like his old self in that first start here.  Suyeta (3) is the pick for me, based on the love for this surface.  The outside horses--Tahoe Warrior (10), Ghost Chapel (9) and Eye of the Eagle (11)--are contenders, too.  You could key the '3' in your exactas with those three or just play a 4-horse exacta box.  EXACTA BOX:  3-9-10-11

BEST EXACTA RACE:  3rd race

50-cent Pick 4 for $50 or less (starts in race 7):  ALL with 5,10 with 8,1,11 with 3 = $24 AND 4 with 5,10 with 8,1,11 with 3,9,10,11 = $12

 

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