Coast to Coast Horses

While all the focus shifts to Kentucky and The Kentucky Derby it can be wise and profitable to look at other venues for value and underlays. It is difficult to catch all the sharks sleeping but at this time of year there is that diversion of focus.

At Santa Anita on Saturday Tirupati will be a solid favorite in The Grade 3 Royal Heroine at a mile on the grass. She is three for six at the distance and two for four over the course. She was claimed for 25,000 and then for 50,000 by her current connections and trainer Jonathan Thomas who was also the trainer who lost her originally for that 25,000. She comes off a wire-to-wire win in The Wilshire and should be close or on the pace in here. If all these fillies and mares entered go, she should have some company near the lead, so I’ll go in another direction and try to beat her.

Raw Ability is three for three and all three are at a mile on the grass including two back-to-back allowance wins since coming to the states. She can be placed anywhere Hector Berrios wants her and she should also get a nice ground saving trip from the 2 post she drew. I’ll look for her to stay undefeated at least for now and pull off a win in her initial stakes try.

Back at Aqueduct we have The Woodhaven also at a mile on the grass, but this is for the boys.

The race drew only seven starters, but it is a competitive bunch, and I can easily make a case for four of the seven.

End of Romance is moving back to the grass after running on the synthetic at Turfway Park. Horses coming off that track have

performed well all over the country this year often out running their odds. End of Romance is putting blinkers for the grass return and Johnny V sticks after a decent try in The Rushaway. Septarian, Revolutionaire, and even Sounds Like a Plan all would be no surprise to me, but I will give a narrow edge to the Turfway angle in a wide open race.