Canterbury Park pick of the day: Aug. 31

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Monday, Aug. 31

Canterbury Park, Race 6: $7,500 Minnesota-bred maiden claiming (1 mile, 8:05 p.m. ET)

Speed holds well in mile races on the Canterbury dirt, and speed can also be very nice in cheap maiden claimers full of horses who don't love to pass their foes. So, let's make a pace play.

#4 Drop o' Chocolate (9-2 on the morning line), who is dropping from the maiden special weight ranks, has a strong chance for a cozy,, lone-speed trip. Though they both came on turf, Drop o' Chocolate has cleared to the lead in both of her previous route tries, and she showed some early pace in a dirt sprint June 10.

Jockey Ry Eikleberry got a little bit of early speed out of Drop o’ Chocolate in a maiden special weight sprint last time out. Eikleberry tends to be even better in route races, and Monday marks his first time riding Drop o’ Chocolate around two turns, which gives him a chance to coax out her best on the stretch out and the class drop. It also helps that he and Drop o' Chocolate will only have lowest-level maiden claimers trying to chase them down.

She could also help in multi-race wagers, since there will likely be a lot of tickets singling the other first-time claimer in this race, #7 Ms Kela Time (9-5). Though Ms Kela Time will add blinkers for a barn that does well with maidens dropping in class, she hasn't shown the same early zip as Drop o' Chocolate.

$20 to win on #4 Drop o’ Chocolate

Good luck!