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Manhattan Handicap Picks and Betting Preview - 06-06-09
June 6 - While it's true that the main draw card to Belmont Park in Elmont, New York today is the highly-anticipated 2009 Belmont Stakes, the race just prior to it, the $400,000 Manhattan Handicap (Gr 1), should also serve up a hot dish of exhilarating horseracing action given its large and talented field.
To be contested by 14 three-year-old thoroughbreds and older, the 1 1/4 mile Manhattan Handicap will be run on Belmont Park's inner turf track and, like the Belmont Stakes, has attracted a lot of betting action. What make this year's outing so exciting is the prospect that six Gr 1 winners will start.
However, that does not mean the result is a forgone conclusion as question marks hang over the head of just about every runner, which means this race could end up being something of a 'crap shoot'. Take 2007 Manhattan Handicap winner Better Talk Now, who aged 10 has not won a race in two years.
Then there is Court Vision, a formidable galloper who impressed by winning last year's $500,000 Hollywood Derby (Gr 1), but is known to prefer firmer ground. And therein lies the problem, as after being to subjected to heavy rainfall, Belmont's inner turf track is expected to be extremely sloppy today.
Marsh Side, whose name should lend itself perfectly to today's conditions, is no doubt a talented runner, but could only muster up a fifth in his last outing in Dubai, which makes his chances doubtful. Since arriving in the U.S., Zambezi Sun has lost all three of his races and will start from an outside post today.
Gio Ponti may be worth a wager, but he has never really proven himself over 10 furlongs and could well run out of steam before the end of today's race. Another galloper that has more than proven himself in the past, but has delivered lack-luster performances of late, is Bobby Frankel's Champs Elysees.
But if there is one horse in today's Manhattan Stakes that likes soft ground and is comfortable with the distance, it's German-bred Lauro, who in his last outing in the 1 1/8 mile $250,000 Dixie Stakes (Gr 2) at Pimlico Racecourse last month, was narrowly beaten by two lengths. He is certainly worth a wager.
Our free Manhattan Handicap tip is an across the board wager on Lauro.
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| | 2009/11/20 11:35:17 AM |
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