by Jerry Shottenkirk
February 20, 2020
It would be a challenge to find a better way to kick off a Pick 4 than the way Gulfstream Park will do it Saturday, as the opening leg of their Late Pick 4 is the G3 World of Trouble Sprint Stakes for older horses. Talk about the perfect way to get the 'final four' on the card going in the ninth race.
The Jason Servis-trained Lasting Legacy is the likely favorite and will be a single on more than just a few tickets. Epic Dreamer, trained by Kelly Breen, will also play a big role down the stretch, despite tiring badly going longer in the Grade 3 Hooper Stakes. There’s little to recommend off his performance in that one, but going two races back, it’s easy to get excited about his sprint chances. To end 2019, he blasted optional allowance foes by 6 1/4 widening lengths in 1:09 1/5. He was on a course to test the Triple Crown prep waters last year and the best he could do on that path was a fourth in the G2 Holy Bull.
Lasting Legacy will be short on the board after a second behind Diamond Ops in the G3 Mr Prospector going seven furlongs. In a separate Mr Prospector Stakes at Monmouth two back, he came off the pace and was strong in a 1 1/2-length win in 1:08 3/5. Until the Mr Prospector at Gulfstream, he had won three straight.
Also on the card and in the late Pick 4 is the Amy Limit Stakes, a sprint for 3-year-old fillies.
The Any Limit looks like it could come down to two runners – Sound Machine and Frank’s Rockette.
The Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained Sound Machine romped in the Glitter Woman Stakes in her last start and continued her Gulfstream success. She’s 2 of 3 over the Gulfstream Park strip and her only disappointment came in a seventh-place finish at Keeneland.
Frank’s Rockette, from the barn of trainer Bill Mott, has an obvious class advantage over this field but has been off since October. That could be somewhat of an equalizer, but if she runs to her races as a 2-year-old, she’s be extremely difficult to beat. After a maiden win at Churchill Downs, she went to Saratoga, where she was second in the G1 Adirondack Stakes and followed with another second in the G1 Spinaway. She ended 2019 with another second in a G1 when he came up just short in the Frizette.
Here’s a suggested play in the Gulfstream Park Late Pick 4 on Saturday:
Race 9: #1 Epic Dreamer, #2 Lasting Legacy.
Race 10: #1 Award Winner, #6 Ry’s the Guy, #7 Mustaaqeem, #10 Largent.
Race 11: #2 Sound Machine, #5 Frank’s Rockette.
Race 12: #3 Weather Wiz, #5 Blewitt, #7 Zoe’s Delight, #10 Dinar, #11 Lemniscate.
50-cent Pick 4 Ticket: 1-2 with 1-6-7-10 with 2-5 with 3-5-7-10-11 ($40).