Nelson J. Menard Memorial pick & Pick 3 play at Fair Grounds
Hotshot Anna winning the 2018 Chicago Handicap (G3) at Arlington Park - Coady Photography/Arlington Park
January 24th, 2020
The $75,000 Nelson J. Menard Memorial S. highlights a nine-race card at Fair Grounds on Saturday, and #5 Hotshot Anna is the one to beat an overflow field. A seven-time stakes winner, the versatile 6-year-old mare has won nine of her last 10 starts, with multiple wins on dirt, synthetic, and turf, but she was all-out to get up as the 8-5 favorite in the Nov. 30 Richard R. Scherer Memorial S. locally.
The Scherer marked her first win from five attempts on the Fair Grounds turf. I am not confident in Hotshot Anna’s affinity for the course, and at short odds, she looks vulnerable.
#6 Play On is my top choice. Unplaced in a pair of stakes efforts last spring, the 4-year-old returned from a long layoff in the Scherer, and despite seasoning and fitness concerns, the lightly raced filly gave Hotshot Anna all she could handle and finished second by a head. Play On came back four weeks later to post a facile win in the Dec. 28 Pan Zareta and was flattered when Quebec, who checked in fourth in the Pan Zareta, came back to win the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial last weekend.
With a 2-1-0 record from three starts, Play On loves the course. The Brad Cox trainee looks poised to deliver another strong showing here.
I will wager on Play On to win, if her odds don’t drop significantly from the 7-2 morning-line price. She is also a single for the Pick 3 sequence beginning in the Menard (Race 5). Here are some thoughts on the other legs.
The Scherer marked her first win from five attempts on the Fair Grounds turf. I am not confident in Hotshot Anna’s affinity for the course, and at short odds, she looks vulnerable.
#6 Play On is my top choice. Unplaced in a pair of stakes efforts last spring, the 4-year-old returned from a long layoff in the Scherer, and despite seasoning and fitness concerns, the lightly raced filly gave Hotshot Anna all she could handle and finished second by a head. Play On came back four weeks later to post a facile win in the Dec. 28 Pan Zareta and was flattered when Quebec, who checked in fourth in the Pan Zareta, came back to win the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial last weekend.
With a 2-1-0 record from three starts, Play On loves the course. The Brad Cox trainee looks poised to deliver another strong showing here.
I will wager on Play On to win, if her odds don’t drop significantly from the 7-2 morning-line price. She is also a single for the Pick 3 sequence beginning in the Menard (Race 5). Here are some thoughts on the other legs.
Race 6
#7 Cold Smoke, who has been training at Oaklawn for Cox, should find this $50,000 maiden claiming opposition to his liking, following a runner-up effort at Keeneland. I will also use #8 Quana Dude, who owns a decent win-early pedigree and will debut for Tom Amoss (23% first time out) with some nice works in tow.Race 7
I'm going three deep with #4 Early Mischief, a sharp winner over the track last time out for Jimmy Baker; #3 Twelfth Labour, who merits serious respect off his last couple for Dallas Stewart; and #2 Kowboy Karma, a late-running sprinter with a touch of class.$5 Pick 3: 6 with 7,8 with 2,3,4 ($30)
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