Horses to play in the Jan. 28 carryovers at Fair Grounds, Turfway

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares horses to play in a pair of non-jackpot Saturday carryovers at Fair Grounds and Turfway Park.

Fair Grounds, Race 4: $1,575 Pick 6 carryover (4:05 p.m. ET)

There aren’t any stakes on the Saturday slate at Fair Grounds, but there is a Pick 6 carryover worth $1,575 up for grabs.

The $1 wager gets underway in Race 4, but the best chance for a single arguably comes in Race 6, a $100,000 allowance optional claimer for three-year-olds sprinting six furlongs on dirt. Seven horses have been entered, and six of them have failed to exceed the 80 Brisnet Speed rating plateau across a combined 27 starts.

But then there’s morning line favorite #6 Eyeing Clover (2-1). He’s only run once, and it was a big effort. In a six-furlong maiden special weight on New Year’s Eve at Oaklawn Park, Eyeing Clover carved out fractions of :21.97 and :45.80 before edging away to score by 1 1/2 lengths with a 93 Brisnet Speed rating.

The form of Eyeing Clover’s debut victory was flattered when third-place finisher Ben’s Legacy came back to win over the same track, distance, and class level. Eyeing Clover is trained by Brad Cox, a 38% winner at Fair Grounds this meet who strikes at a 26% rate with last-out maiden winners, so Eyeing Clover should be mighty tough to beat on Saturday.

Turfway Park, Race 8: $5,867 Super High 5 carryover (9:25 p.m. ET)

Saturday’s $1 Super High 5 at Turfway Park features a $5,867 carryover. The prize pool is available to chase in Race 8, a maiden special weight for three-year-olds racing 1 1/16 miles on Tapeta, and morning line favorite #10 Quadra Island (5-2) is a logical choice to key on top.

Trained by Brad Cox (a 24% winner at Turfway since Nov. 30), Quadra Island didn’t show much when debuting in a one-mile heat over this track and class level on Dec. 2, rallying only belatedly to finish fifth. But he improved significantly in an identical contest on Jan. 1, rallying to finish third with an 87 Brisnet Speed rating that tops Saturday’s field.

Quadra Island is progressing in the right direction, and stretch runners tend to perform well racing 1 1/16 miles at Turfway. The chestnut colt is a logical choice to take home top honors.

Good luck!