Pick 3 of the Week: Oaklawn Park Saturday [Feb 15]

A three-race sequence at Oaklawn Park on Saturday, led by the Dixie Belle S., headlines the Pick 3 of the Week. 

Race 7 Wager

$1 Pick 3: 4,7,8 with 1,2,5,9 with 6,7 ($24)

Race 7 – Optional Claiming

The 1 1/8-mile event for the boys attracted a talented and well-matched field of nine to commence the wager. I’m not especially confident in any of the contenders as the field is littered with inconsistent types, but using four will get me through to the next leg. #1 Tonka Warrior (3-1), #2 Magic Tap (9-5), #5 Game Warden (6-1), and #9 Speed Bias (5-1), have all flashed the ability to win a race of this nature and will be on the ticket. 

Race 8 – Allowance

Fillies and mares will travel 1 1/16 miles in the lucrative, $130,000 allowance affair. I will surely have #7 Simply Enchanting (8-1) on my ticket for conditioner Phil D’Amato. The bay daughter of Nyquist has flashed good ability on multiple occasions in the past, and she ran like a filly that needed a race last time out. The four-year-old will take a big step forward on Saturday with Ramon Vazquez taking the reins. 

#4 Lemon Muffin (2-1) and #8 Crazy Cami (4-1) will also be included in a cast that lacks a standout. 

Race 9 – Dixie Belle S. 

A cast of seven sophomore fillies will jaunt six panels in the closing leg. The feature is a tricky one to decipher, with several horses capable of breaking through in the dash. Greg Compton’s #6 G W’s Girl (7-5) was a sharp winner of the Mockingbird S. in her dirt debut last time out and gets the slight nod in the heat. Munnings filly has run a trio of good ones in succession to begin her career and will be moving best of all late in the contest. 

#7 You’ll Be Back (5-2) retreats from a one-mile event when second in the Year’s End S. on the surface in December, and the $575,000 daughter of Practical Joke will prosper at six panels off the layoff. The Tom Amoss pupil will move into contention approaching the turn for home with Christian Torres in the irons.