Churchill Downs Pick of the Week for June 20

The fifth Race at Churchill Downs on Thursday is a first-level allowance event that attracted a field nine chasing a substantial $97,000 purse. The 1 1/16-mile test is a key race on the card, concluding the early Pick 4 and commencing the late one. I fancy a runner with good value who will be a single on my tickets. Joe Sharp’s BEANTOWN BOYS (#4) (9-2) makes a third run at this meeting since being claimed and seems poised to earn his first victory beneath the Twin Spires in a competitive field. The dark bay exits a pair of solid tries over the track and appears to be a perfect fit in this cast. Midnight Lute five-year-old went one-mile with similar in his initial try for the barn on May 12 and finished a creditable third in a swiftly run contest. Kentucky-bred was close to a healthy pace before being outkicked inside the final furlong and wound up a clear third beneath today’s pilot Gabriel Saez. In his most recent performance on May 30, Beantown Boys was full of run on the backside but had nowhere to go with a trio of runners hemming him to midstretch. The gelding finished gamely to just miss a placing and I argue that he may have been the winner with a smoother voyage. Beantown Boys draws a good post with some pace to his inside today and can receive a more favorable trip. A winner in two of four assignments in 2019, the top pick has very good form in a race lacking a standout. And a trio of his main foes are sophomores facing elders, which is no easy task this time of year. A going-away winner over a sloppy surface at Santa Anita in his seasonal bow, Beantown Boys could receive a wet track according to the forecast and that would only add to the appeal. I will be keying Beantown Boys on Thursday. Photo courtesy of Coady Photography