How to bet the Tropical Turf Stakes

An excellent and well-matched field of nine will travel one-mile on the Gulfstream Park green in Saturday’s $100,000 Tropical Turf (G3).

Tropical Turf Analysis

The pace of the Tropical Turf figures to be a reasonable one. Grade 2 winner #5 Frostmourne led at every call in a fine allowance victory at Churchill Downs in his debut for Eddie Kenneally last time out, and I expect him to employ that same early tactic in this spot.

Defending champ #7 Tusk also has a lot of pace and will be forwardly placed for Joseph. Tapit gelding has turned out to be a profitable claim for his connections, but I didn’t like the way he stopped against lesser on the course in his most recent performance.

Despite his running style as a one-run closer, my top pick is #3 Ride A Comet from the barn of Mark Casse. Candy Ride 6-year-old bagged the 2018 Del Mar Derby (G2) in fine fashion before being sidelined for more than two years, but he has come back with a pair of fantastic tallies on the All-Weather strip at Woodbine in advance of his graded stakes return. Kentucky-bred has a potent turn of foot, and his bullet drills indicate that he is ready to produce another major run. Tyler Gaffalione will be in the stirrups.

#2 Casa Creed is a consistently good performer for Bill Mott and is a very logical top-three threat. The 2019 Hall of Fame (G2) victor was a Grade 1 third at Saratoga in the summer, and he has the tactical speed to keep touch early before putting in his best run under Alvarado.

Tropical Turf Wagers

• $40 Win: #3 Ride A Comet ($40)
• $10 Exacta Box: 2-3 ($20)