by Frank Carulli
July 7, 2022
Belmont Park’s Late Pick 4 paid $3,658 for a 50-cent wager last week after the feature race produced a 45-1 winner. With nine or more entrants in each leg of the sequence this Friday, July 8, another big payout could be in store. Here’s an early look at the action:
BEL 6th race (3:34 EST) -- U SHOULD BE DANCING rallied for a win and two photo-finish setbacks in her last three starts sprinting on the lawn. She saved ground until the stretch in her last pair and closed with good energy in the 4-path. STUCK ON KITTEN returns to the turf 18 months after a promising debut on that surface. She was last seen in December, romping to a win off the claim for a hot barn in a MSW race on Gulfstream Park’s synthetic track. That race that timed faster than a same-day, $20,000 starter allowance.
BEL 7th race (4:08 EST) -- Many ways to go in this NY-bred allowance, so punch the ‘ALL’ button. WHITTINGTON PARK, who broke his maiden easily at this distance, returns off a 10-month layoff for the high-percentage barn of trainer Brad Cox. MAJOR SPIN graduated at one mile, set a pressured pace in a faster follow-up, now adds blinkers. AGILITY is 8-1 on the morning line despite finishing in the money in all three NY-bred stakes tries this year.
BEL 8th race (4:40 EST) -- REGAL REALM deserves a long look at a good price after she passed her first long-distance test with flying colors on the Delaware Park lawn. She repelled a bid on the final turn by second-favorite Seduce, who came back to open an 8-length lead and break her maiden next out. Thisnameisokay, who finished fourth, also came back with a front-end score by 7-3/4 lengths. PARNAC makes her U.S. debut after she lived up to strong betting action in two starts in Germany, winning a 7F stakes race last fall. She gets Lasix and her new trainer, Christophe Clement, wins at a 20-percent clip with new acquisitions and layoff types.
BEL 9th race (5:12 EST) -- N Y ANTHEM adds blinkers for his first turf start off a good try sprinting on the Parx main track. He broke sharp, remained close-up until the stretch and finished third behind a MSW class dropper who last raced at Santa Anita and a next-out MSW winner. His dam never raced on turf but his sire has produced 17 grass sprint winners from 123 starters. MAJESTIC JOHNSON need not be much to factor for a 27-percent barn with debut maiden claimers. His dam won first out in a 5-1/2F MSW sprint at Saratoga. SOUTHERN CIVILITY improved enough in his second start to earn a spot on the ticket at 15-1. He chased a pair of short-priced rivals who finished in a dead heat for the win and a third-place finisher who came back with a last-to-first move to graduate.
Suggested 50-cent Ticket
BEL 6th Race: 9, 10
BEL 7th Race: ALL
BEL 8th Race: 4, 7
BEL 9th Race: 6, 8, 11
COST: $54