How to bet the 2023 Sweetest Chant Stakes

A very good group of nine sophomore fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the Gulfstream Park green in Saturday’s $175,000 Sweetest Chant S. (G3). I feel that this field boasts numerous legitimate contenders and feel compelled to spread my wagers around with multiple fillies.

The Brad Cox-trained #8 Heavenly Sunday has posted two fine wins to kick off her career and appears to be up to the task while making her stakes debut against this fine cast. By Candy Ride, she decimated maiden special weight foes at first asking at Indiana Downs, which preceded a mostly dominant victory when facing allowance company at Keeneland on October 28.

Heavenly Sunday showed very good positional speed when entered in a 12-horse field most recently, and I expect her to sit a good trip from the second flight early on in the affair. She has been training in consistent fashion since December and rates an obvious chance under the guidance of Tyler Gaffalione.

#7 Cairo Consort, twice Grade-1 placed as a juvenile, commenced 2023 with a tally in the Ginger Brew S. in her first run since coming to Todd Pletcher. Purchased for $875,000 in November, the gray daughter of Cairo Prince has been a high-level performer since the summer and figures to show improvement in her second run off the bench. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) third shows a pair of half-mile breezes since her recent performance and will have Irad Ortiz in the stirrups.

#3 Malleymoo won on debut at Dundalk in Ireland and gave a nice impression of herself when closing from last to be a close second in the Wait A While S. on this surface. The Jack Sisterson trainee has put in a quartet of solid morning drills in the interim and will likely move forward in her second stateside performance. The dark bay daughter of English Channel gets a nice post to save ground to the turn for home before unleashing her late rush under Julien Leparoux.

The well-bred #5 Alpha Bella was a game maiden winner in her first try on the sod last time out, which was also her initial try since adding blinkers. The Justify filly needs to improve to upset this cast, but she has a lot of appeal to me in the affair at a price with Luis Saez taking the reins once again.

Sweet Chant Wagers

• $3 exacta: box 3, 5, 7, 8 ($36)
• 50-cent superfecta: 7, 8 with 3, 5, 7, 8 with 3, 5, 7, 8 with all ($36)