A solid field of eight will run 1 3/16 miles on the main oval in Friday’s $250,000 Pimlico Special S. (G3). I like the progression shown by #8 Star of Wonder (7-2) for trainer Brad Cox and will tab him to annex his first stakes race in this endeavor. By Uncle Mo, the four-year-old colt is four-for-five in his lifetime and has earned 100 Brisnet Late Pace numbers in two straight game allowance wins as of late, suggesting that he will handle this stretch out in distance with relative ease. The WinStar homebred has a lot of room to improve while making his second appearance since November, and he will be especially dangerous with a step forward under the guidance of Prat. 

Pimlico Special Wagers

• $10 exacta 8 with 4,6,9 ($30)
• 30-cent superfecta 8 with 4,6,9 with 1,3,4,6,9 with all ($18)

Norm Casse’s #4 Awesome Aaron (12-1) has substantial appeal at a nice price with John Velazquez in the stirrups. By Practical Joke, the six-year-old gelding has been in nice form since being claimed for $40,000 in September, but it's his last race that stands out to me. Racing with blinkers off, the bay powered home a strong, 5 3/4-length winner in an allowance test at Oaklawn and will be a major threat with even minor improvement. The Kentucky-bred will track the pace from third leading to the turn for home.

#6 Just Steel (15-1) is a bit of a stretch at this distance, but I liked the effort the Lukas pupil put forth in the especially deep Churchill Downs S. (G1) most recently at seven panels. The Grade-1 placed Justify colt is inconsistent on the whole, but if he can settle early and make a run in the lane, I could envision him grabbing a share at a big price beneath Nik Juarez. 

#9 Red Route One (8-1) was an even fourth behind a slow pace in the contest last year and will get better splits to rally into on Saturday for Asmussen. Gun Runner chestnut has earned more than $2.1 million in his career and will be rolling home from well off of the early splits with Paco Lopez inheriting the ride.

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