How to bet the Pebbles Stakes

A total of 10 sophomore fillies, two of which are main track only, are entered for Friday’s $175,000 Pebbles S. (G3) at Aqueduct. The one-mile affair on the green attracted a well-matched group that will hope to pick up their first graded stakes win. I’m most interested in two of the contenders in the field and will focus on the duo for my wager. 

Pebbles Wager

• $20 exacta box 4-6 ($40)

#6 Oversubscribed, one of two fillies in the cast for trainer Chad Brown, ran into the More Than Pretty buzz saw in the Queen Elizabeth II S. (G1) in her latest outing and will appreciate the class relief on this occasion. By Too Darn Hot, the expensive yearling purchase had been first or second in her first four lifetime races prior to her try at Keeneland last time out, led by a win in the Wild Applause S. on the local lawn and a runner-up finish in the Lake George S. (G3) at Saratoga two back. 

The bay flashed early foot last time which was uncharacteristic of her, and I expect the talented three-year-old to revert to her prior tactics and rate off the early pace. Flavien Prat will be in the controls. 

#4 Whiskey Decision has been a bit off form as of late, but the daughter of Into Mischief looked too good in her first pair of grassy attempts to be ignored at a fair price on this occasion. The Arnaud Delacour charge dusted allowance foes in her grassy bow in May, prior to dominating a sneaky-good field in the Christiana S. at Delaware Park on July 8. She was then headstrong when tiring late as the 6-5 favorite in the Del Mar Oaks (G1) two back. 

In her latest performance with blinkers off, the filly endured a tough trip when beaten four lengths in the Winter Memories S. on this surface in a field that had a lot of quality to it. The Kentucky bred comes in fresh with six morning drills in advance of Friday, and I expect her to run something close to her best with Luan Machado taking the reins. Whiskey Decision will track the pace from the second flight in the early stages of the contest.