The final Twilight Thursday card of the spring at Churchill Downs is upon us with a solid 8-race slate set to begin at 5PM eastern. The card features a trio of allowance races, including two that make up the late Daily Double. Here are the horses I like most.


Race 4:
The pace should be honest, but not overly chaotic in this open $32k claimer at one-mile over the main track. This should allow #3 Real Macho to work out a great trip under Irad Ortiz Jr. in his second start off the claim for trainer Joe Sharp. Sharp claimed this 5YO gelding from Rohan Crichton out of a $25k spot at the beginning of the meet and he ran well in the first start for his new barn. He finished second to Systematic Change, a runner that took advantage of a great trip off a quick early pace, while Real Macho was stalking three-wide as part of the early proceedings. I like the way the son of Mucho Macho Man easily put away the inside speed horses before being unable to go with the eventual winner. With the pace likely to be a bit softer and the stretch out to the one-turn mile, Real Macho should be in a perfect spot early and able to seal the deal late for his fifth lifetime score.

Play: #3 Real Macho (7-2 ML)
Picks: 3-7-9


Race 6:
It could be a big evening for Irad Ortiz, who rides 5-2-ML favorite #2 About Face in this MSW event at one-mile over the turf. The son of Candy Ride debuted in a two-turn race in Arkansas for Brad Cox suggesting the barn knew he was not fast and instead would be best using his stamina. Cox moved the Gary & Mary West homebred to the turf last out at Churchill Downs where he ran very well to finish second at odds of 9-1. In that first grass try, the 3YO colt was between rivals most of the way a couple of lengths off the early pacesetter. The pacesetter ended up being a long shot that got brave on the front end and won going away. One could argue About Face ran fine, but not worthy of taking a short price in his next start. My response would be that he meets a modest field, draws favorably along the rail, and gets a big rider upgrade after a promising first trip over a new surface. He is going to take some beating with a move forward off his May 25 run.

Play: #2 About Face (5-2 ML)
Picks: 2-4-11


Race 7:
My final Twilight Thursday play of the meet comes in this first-level allowance for 3YOs at the tricky 6.5-furlong distance where #1 It’s Our Time makes his return to the races. The 5-2-ML favorite dazzled with a massive number on all metrics in his debut at Saratoga last August, but has not been able to get close since. He certainly could be ready to fire another big one off the long break, but I will play against these horses every day of the week and twice on Sunday. It just is a difficult task to get a horse back to that sort of effort on debut, yet the public is often attracted to these horses far more than I am.
I much prefer #7 Munnings Challenge. The Brad Cox trainee has a win and two seconds in three starts, including a runner-up effort to American Man last out. Not only is American Man a length away from a 3 for 3-start to his career, but he had a tactical advantage over Munnings Challenge when they raced in late May since the latter was down on the inside throughout on a day where the outside was more favorable. With the move to an outside draw, Irad Ortiz should have options out of the gate instead of having his hand forced to send aggressively. This colt has speed, but settling on the outside should allow him to finish with more energy in his second local start.

Play: #7 Munnings Challenge (7-2 ML)
Picks: 7-6-9