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




Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Race 1:  Jazil's Song (11) off the class drop is interesting here and you have to like the McPeek/Garcia combo.  She gets the pick to win.  Darkest Hour (9) merits respect as the only horse in the field with a win over this track.  Loaded Lady (7) did run well here in her only start.  EXACTA BOX: 11-9-7

Race 2:  Nashindy (6) has worked exceptionally well and the Sheppard/Rosie combo has been potent over recent years at Keeneland.  The favorite, Scanning (2), looks vulnerable here. EXACTA BOXES:  6-5, 6-2

Race 3:  this race is likely to go to a horse that has won on this track.  Of the three in that category, I like Credit Crunch (4), who was very impressive in victory here last fall.  Costly (7) comes off a nice win.  EXACTA BOX:  4-7-9

Race 4:  Tough call here.  A shaky pick for Kims Reward (9) for her speed, good form on synthetic and getting Desormeaux in the saddle.  Praksis (8) is intriguing off that big debut win, given that nobody in this bunch looks like anything special right now.  You're My Buddy (4) has a win over synthetic and merits respect.  EXACTA BOX:  9-8-4

Race 5:  Don't really like anybody much in here so it's a spread race in horizontal wagers.  I'll try Old Brownsboro (11).  Trainer Ian Wilkes' horses usually do better when they get to Churchill but when he does win here, it's often with a sprinter.  Inside posts have fared poorly in sprints here so be cautious about the inside two, despite decent records.  Night Patrol (5), Call Me Kitten (7) and OTB Bob (6) are all contenders in a wide open affair.  EXACTA BOX:  11-5-7

Race 6:  Magical Season (1) showed big-time improvement last time and anything close to that would win here.  The only horse I could see as an alternative is Perrageaux (3).  EXACTA BOX: 1-3

Race 7:  speed has been good in sprints at this meet and that leads me to Miffed (9).  I also like the fact that Alan Garcia, who is riding very well, takes this mount.  Bellinzio (11) is a live longshot w/ Stevens off that win here last fall.  Mama's Diva (5) and Montana Native (2) are strong contenders on the class drop but the latter must overcome that inside post.  Some Temper is another interesting price play, because of the affinity for Presque Isle's synthetic surface.  EXACTA BOX:  9-11-5

Race 8:  Carnival Kitten (12) has a terrible post but has the closing style that is playing well this spring in routes and trainer Catalano has a good record when using Rosario to ride.  La Malaguena (7) is the one to beat.  Gulfstream shippers have a great record here this spring and one coming from south Florida figures to win here, so add Indygo Fashion (9) to the mix.  EXACTA BOX:  12-7-9

BEST EXACTA RACE:  8th

50-cent LATE PICK 4 for $50 or less:  11/5/7/6/2 with 1 with 9/11/8/5/2 with 12/7/9 = $37.50

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