View from my cube

I’ve been busy, and will be for a good part of the prep season, but at least I have the calendar to keep me company. Now that the whining is out of the way, here are my picks… quickly, cuz I gotta get to the office to see JZ Warrior’s return!

Swale:

I’ll take St. Joe here, the cutback should be good for him + his last 2 works have been good. Wincat looks tough but I wanna see him against more experienced runners before I’ll take a short price. My only question about St. Joe is does he like conventional dirt or were his last two efforts a product of distance? Coal Play looks interesting too.

Robert B Lewis:

I like Crown of Thorns and Coast Guard. Crown of Thorns has some needed endurance building works and Coast Guard is getting blinkers + he looks to me to be most likely to stretch out.

Donn:

I’m not sold on Daaher here, they’ll be more pace than his last 2 + more distance. In his win at the distance he didn’t have any pressure and I don’t think that will be the case today. Mind you, I’ll use him, but I don’t think he’s a sure thing, he might also regress.

I like AP Arrow, of he, Fairbanks and Brass Hat I think he’s the strongest. He really likes this distance and I liked his performance in the Clark. I’ll also throw in Dr. Googles Boogles (which is very fun to say!) in for fun. He’s placed 2 out of 3 times at the distance and looks to me be improving. I’m not sold on Einstein or Kiss the Kid here, I’m always leary of turf horses who’s only wins off turf were in turf races moved to dirt. Although I’m interested to see how Einstein will do!

Santa Monica:

I probably won’t wager here but I like Hysterical Lady better than Pussycat Doll. Hysterical Lady has handled synthetic surfaces well while PCD hasn’t + I think the cutback is just right. I might do a tri-box with including HL, PCD & Overly Tempting.

Strub:

Tiago looks hard to beat, he needed the last race + this is his distance. However, you all know how I feel about Slew’s Tizzy. I really think he’s got a shot. He hasn’t had much luck at the distance but I know he’ll love the surface. I’m interested to see if he’ll rate or get in a speed duel, which could undo him. I’ll box them + depending on Slew’s Tizzy’s odds I’ll take him across the board as well. Air Commander is a “prove it to me” here.

Best of luck to all!