Gulfstream Park: How to bet the $6,451 Super High 5 carryover

The Saturday card at Gulfstream Park gets underway with a $6,451 carryover up for grabs in the $1 Super High 5.

It’s not uncommon to see the opening race at any given track feature a small field, with larger fields saved for later in the day. But that’s not the case on Saturday at Gulfstream. The Super High 5 is available to play right off the bat in Race 1, a $25,000 maiden claimer featuring 12 horses in the main body of the field plus two also-eligible entrants.

In short, it’s shaping up as a difficult race to handicap. Assuming a dozen runners start, there will be 95,040 possible Super High 5 outcomes. It’s hard to know where to begin in handicapping this 1 1/16-mile grass contest, but perhaps keying #5 Money Map (3-1) on top is a good place to start.

Money Map debuted in a $20,000 maiden claimer over this course and distance last month and ran well in defeat, carving out the pace before weakening in the final furlong to finish third by 1 1/2 lengths. Trainer Saffie Joseph wins at a lofty 24% rate with second-time starters, so Money Map is eligible to fire another strong shot even while stepping up in class.

Aiding Money Map’s chances is the fact there’s hardly any speed entered in Saturday’s field. The son of speedy Preakness (G1) winner Shackleford seems likely to reach the front through slow fractions, leaving more energy for the homestretch.

There’s one other factor in Money Map’s favor: he’s lightly raced and still has upside. It’s hard to say the same for morning line favorite #4 Most Wanted Man (9-5), whose form has slipped with a couple of off-the-board efforts against maiden special weight company at Gulfstream. The four-year-old gelding is going to be a popular choice while dropping in class, but his 7-0-0-4 lifetime record and declining form suggest that he could be vulnerable.

If you want to include a horse who’s dropping in class, consider #9 America’s Guest (6-1) at better odds. Two starts back, he finished ninth in a Gulfstream Park maiden special weight behind Far Bridge and Carl Spackler, two of the most exciting young turf horses in training. America’s Guest is only three years old and still has room to improve as he matures.

Good luck!