Exotics Plays for the Valdale Stakes

A total of six three-year-old fillies will jaunt 6 1/2 furlongs on the Tapeta at Turfway Park in Saturday’s $125,000 Valdale S. I like the outside draw for #6 Coco Connect (5-2) and will give the Connect filly the slight edge in the affair. 

Valdale Exotics

• $20 exacta 6 with 2 ($20)
• $10 trifecta key 6 with 2,5 ($20)

The $150,000 juvenile purchase graduated on the dirt in her second outing at Keeneland, and following an unplaced try going long in the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs, the filly looked really good in a local allowance triumph most recently in her first go on the course. In that triumph, the sophomore tracked a solid pace and pulled clear in the lane while giving the impression that she might have more to offer going forward. 

Coco Connect also has the right running style for the tilt as two of her main foes are speedy sorts, so the lass could fall into a dream voyage while tracking the tempo from the second flight in the early going. The Kentucky-bred will be poised to strike at the top of the lane with Edgar Morales riding for John Ennis. 

#2 The Town Tempter (2-1) defeated what I thought was a nice cast in a turf dash at Fair Grounds last time and will make her first showing since being transferred to conditioner Brendan Walsh. The speedy daughter of Karakontie has not been headed in her last two appearances, and I have a hunch that she will prosper on the synthetic in her initial run over the all-weather. Purchased for $175,000 in January, the three-year-old could pay instant dividends to her new connections with a step forward under Machado. 

Bill Morey’s #5 Believe in Magic (8-5) is the most stakes seasoned runner in the field and is a must use in the top three. The dark bay daughter of Not This Time led throughout in a game allowance heist on the surface in her latest venture, and she has held up well while facing some very good horses in her lifetime in advance of Saturday. She is twice stakes placed and wouldn’t be a surprise under the guidance of Walter Rodriguez.