All-Stakes Pick 4 at Kentucky Downs for Monday, September 7

A handful of lucrative black-type tilts will be part of a massive 14-race card at Kentucky Downs on Monday, and four of the stakes events will comprise the Pick 4 of the Week. 

Race 8 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 4: 5,9 with 2,6,9,10 with 2,3,4,6,7 with 5,8,10 ($60)

Race 8 – Lucky Lantern S. 

Sophomore fillies will go 6 1/2 panels in the opening leg with a full field set for the dash. #5 Sapphire Beach (9-2) ran into a monster when a clear second at The Spa last time and was flattered when the third-place finisher came back to dominate stakes foes in her next run. Rusty Arnold trainee ran well here in 2025 and looms large in the first leg. 

I find it to be interesting that Jose Ortiz opts to ride #9 Oscar’s Encore (6-1) rather than my top pick in the field, so I’ll use the daughter of Oscar Performance too. The Joe Sharp pupil could peak in her third run off the shelf and will be forwardly placed from the break. 

Race 9 – Gun Runner S. 

A huge cast of 14 sophomores will travel one mile on the sod in the second piece of the play. The Miguel Clement-trained #6 Bottas (4-1) looked the part in a convincing score in the Hall of Fame (G2) at Saratoga last time and has improved his Brisnet Speed number in each run this campaign. The Vekoma colt will be very tough in this spot if he handles the course in his local debut.

Stakes hero #2 Touch of Fire (3-1), Secretariat (G2) runner-up #9 Infiltrate (6-1), and California invader #10 Mr. A. P. (8-1) will also make the ticket. 

Race 10 – Mint Million (G3)

An excellent field of 10 will vie in the $2 million contest. I’ll use a few in the race led by Cherie DeVaux’s #2 Brilliant Berti (8-1). The Noble Mission five-year-old ran a big one with blinkers added at Ellis Park last time and owns a win on the oval as well. The late runner was a solid fourth in the heat in 2025 and will have Brian Hernandez in the irons. 

#6 Giocoso (20-1) was a good second in the Gun Runner S. on the oval last season and had a nice prep for this when a closing third behind the top pick last time. #7 Chasing the Crown (9-2) is a two-time winner on the surface and wheels back in a week after a big win on the strip last time. Euro invaders #3 Facteur Cheval (8-1) and #4 Haatem (4-1) will also be included. 

Race 11 – Franklin-Simpson (G2)

An oversubscribed cast of 16 is entered for the final leg of the sequence. Sophomores will run 6 1/2 furlongs on the green, and European invader #10 Take Charge Star (4-1) looks tough in his stateside bow. The bay colt was a close fourth in a Group 1 at Deauville while facing his elders last time and is a fine fit for Murtagh. 

#5 Throckmorton (10-1) has run well in each of his four turf sprints to date and will be in the hunt late with something close to his best performance. #8 Blinging It Back (5-1) graduated on the oval last campaign in his lone run on the oval, and the son of Volatile comes off a big run when splitting a nice pair at Saratoga last time. He will prosper on the cutback in distance.