Spot plays and Pick 3 for Prairie Meadows, including the Iowa Oaks and Derby
The Cornhusker H. (G3), Iowa Oaks (G3), and Iowa Derby (listed) highlight an 11-race card at Prairie Meadows for Day 2 of the 2023 Iowa Festival of Racing.
Below we offer spot plays for the aforementioned stakes and provide a Pick 3 ticket combining the three races.
$1 Pick 3: 2, 3 with 3, 8 with 6, 8, 9, 12 ($16)
Race 7: 1 1/16 miles, Iowa Oaks (G3), 3yo fillies
#3 Crypto Mo (5-1) has won back-to-back starts by a combined 18 1/2 lengths, including a 17-length romp in a one-mile-and-70-yard allowance at Prairie Meadows two back, in which the filly recorded a career-best 92 Brisnet Speed figure. Last out, she beat today's race rival Broken Hearts Bay by 1 1/2 lengths in the one-mile Panthers S. and will move up in class to face graded stakes company for the first time.
We'll back the three-year-old Tapit granddaughter with a win bet and play her in the first leg of our Pick 3 alongside morning line favorite #2 Imonra (5-2).
The Saffie Joseph trainee posted a similar 92 BRIS figure last out when winning by 2 3/4 lengths in an allowance optional claimer over a muddy Gulfstream track. The Violence filly will make her first stakes attempt here and will regain rider Edgard Zayas, a 23% winner paired with Joseph over the last two months.
Joseph is also a 22% winner with horses that won their last race and an 18% winner with shippers.
Race 8: 1 1/8 miles Cornhusker H. (G3), 3yo and up
#3 Call Me Fast (9-2) led in the stretch but was caught by Rattle N Roll to finish second in the Blame (G3) at Churchill on June 3, placing second to that rival for the second consecutive start. The Dialed In gelding flashed a 100 BRIS figure in his latest endeavor, with a 103 Late Pace rating, and earned a 121 Class Rating in his third Grade 3 attempt.
Call Me Fast outfinished today's race rival #5 Skippylongstocking (3-1) two back in the Ben Ali (G3) and can best the 2022 Belmont (G1) third-place finisher, who is 1-for-3 to start his four-year-old campaign.
Call Me Fast's trainer, Michael Puhich, is a 13% winner in graded stakes, and rider Julien Leparoux strikes at a 15% rate with routes.
We'll stand against morning line favorite Skippylongstocking and back Call Me Fast, while also including #8 Warrant (4-1) in the second leg of our Pick 3.
Warrant tracked the pace but weakened to finish a seven-length fourth last out in the 1 1/2-mile Brooklyn (G2) on June 10 at Belmont, but two back, he held late to win by a neck at the same distance in a non-graded stakes.
Warrant may improve with the cutback to 1 1/8 miles, a distance from which he owns a 5-1-2-1 record. Trainer Brad Cox is also a 26% winner in graded stakes and a 30% winner with beaten favorites.
Race 9: 1 1/16 miles, Iowa Derby, 3yo
#6 Bo Cruz (9-2) won two straight at or near today's distance in a maiden special weight and allowance optional claimer before he jumped up to face graded stakes company and stretched out to 1 1/8 miles last out in the Matt Winn (G3) at Ellis Park. The Creative Cause colt set the early pace before giving way at the furlong grounds to finish third to Kentucky Derby (G1) fourth-place finisher Disarm last out, but the gray colt can rebound with the shorter distance and the drop in class here.
Trainer Al Stall, Jr. is an 18% winner in non-graded stakes and a 35% winner third off the layoff, while Cristian Torres, a 24% winner with pacesetter types, will pick up the mount.
We'll back Bo Cruz in the final leg of our Pick 3 along with Brad Cox pupil #8 Eyeing Clover (3-1), who was caught late to finish a neck third in the 1 1/16-mile Texas Derby on May 29. We'll also include #12 West Coast Cowboy (6-1), who won last out when dropping in class off a layoff at Gulfstream and put in a pair of bullet works ahead of this event. Trainer Saffie Joseph is a 16% winner second off the layoff and in non-graded stakes, and Edgard Zayas will retain the mount.
Finally, #9 Black Powder (10-1) is worth a shot out of Steve Asmussen's barn. The Gun Runner colt failed as the favorite last out in the Texas Derby but won two back at today's distance in a $100K allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn. Asmussen is a 24% winner with beaten favorites and a 17% winner in non-graded stakes. Julien Leparoux will inherit the mount.
