How to bet the Gold Fever Stakes

A talented and compact field of six sophomore colts will contest the $150,000 Gold Fever S. at Belmont Park on Friday. Run at six panels on the main surface, the feature attracted a field with a lot of early zip, and I will look for an off-the-pace type to take down the top prize in the six-furlong dash.

The John Servis-trained #4 Tuskegee Airmen will make his three-year-old bow in the heat, and I will tab him to commence 2023 in winning fashion against this cast. By Street Sense, the $290,000 yearling purchase debuted at Parx on Pennsylvania Derby Day in September and left little doubt following a powerful, 5 1/2-length romp over maiden special weight foes. A facile stakes tally followed at Delaware Park, which preceded a distant third-place run in the Remsen S. (G2) to cap his juvenile campaign.

Tuskegee Airmen takes a considerable cut back in distance off the layoff, which I like, even if he might be better at middle distances compared to sprints in the future. The Kentucky-bred colt has posted bullet morning moves in four of his last five works, and he has proven to be capable of running while fresh in the past, too. He will be well off the pace in the early stages of the tilt, but I expect the bay to pass them all inside the final furlong with Paco Lopez taking the reins.

Conditioner James Chapman has two entrants in the field, led by the unbeaten #6 Drew’s Gold. The dark bay son of Violence comes off of a dominant Jimmy Winkfield S. triumph in his latest performance and shows five useful morning workouts in advance of Friday. He has shown that he can win from on the lead, or when stalking the action early on, and I envision him sitting a fine trip from just off of it to the top of the lane. The Kentucky-bred will benefit from the outside post draw that he received with Jose Gomez in the stirrups.

The Brad Cox-trained #2 Squire Creek has led throughout in both lifetime tries to date and could be any kind going forward. The $525,000 son of Uncle Mo is undoubtedly a nice prospect, but I think he landed in a pretty tough spot to make his stakes debut. At an expected short price, I will aim to upend the bay under Florent Geroux.

Gold Fever Wagers

$30 win: #4 Tuskegee Airmen ($30)
$10 exacta box: 4-6 ($20)