Trifecta Play of the Week: W. L. McKnight Stakes

An overflow field of 14 will travel 1 1/2 miles on the Gulfstream Park turf in Saturday’s $200,000 W. L. McKnight S. (G3). The grassy tilt features numerous intriguing players, and I believe that it is a great race to potentially return healthy mutuels in the vertical exotics.

A horse of great interest to me is the Rusty Arnold-trained #6 Bama Breeze (12-1). The gelded son of Honor Code has yet to find his most consistent form, but the five-year-old had what I thought was a fine prep at Keeneland when fourth in the Sycamore S. (G3) at today’s distance. In that outing, the dark bay made a big middle move to be close at the top of the lane, only to tire late over a good turf course.

Bama Breeze was a smart allowance winner over a nice horse at Kentucky Downs two back, and 12 furlongs looks like an ideal distance for the Kentucky-bred. Corey Lanerie will rally the value contender from well back in the early stages.

#9 Glynn County (3-1), one of four in the main body (and six overall) for Mike Maker, ran well in a trio of graded stakes races in succession last campaign and seems poised for a positive showing in his 2022 bow. Kitten’s Joy five-year-old is relatively lightly raced with room for improvement, and his best performance will find him in the mix late under Tyler Gaffalione.

Pletcher’s #10 Abaan (2-1) is very logical coming off a two-mile stakes win on the course. The son of Will Take Charge has proven his ability to carry his substantial early speed a route of ground, and the presence of top gun Luis Saez makes him a menacing figure while making his graded debut.

#1 Temple (4-1) was second in the race last season, gets the cozy rail slot, and the gelding also comes in fresh on a strip where he dons a 12-4-4-2 lifetime line. Dark bay son of Temple City could surely be the one with a well-timed ride from Rispoli.

Trifecta Wager

• $2 trifecta box 1,6,9,10 ($48)