Pick 3 of the Week: Ellis Park Saturday, Aug. 23

A pair of two-year-old races will kick off the Pick 3 of the Week at Ellis Park on Saturday. 

Race 3 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 3: 1,5,7 with 2,6,9,12 with 6,7,9,10 ($24)

Race 3 – Maiden Special Weight

A total of nine juveniles will speed 5 1/2 panels on the main oval in the opening leg. #5 Stormforged (9-2) brought $250,000 in the spring and is by superb debut sire Vekoma. One of two major players in the contest for Steve Asmussen, the May foal will have Erik Asmussen in the silks. 

#7 Bricklin (7-2), who fetched a bid of $450,000 in May, as well as Asmussen’s #1 Time for Music (3-1), will also make the first piece of the ticket. 

Race 4 – Maiden Special Weight

A full cast of two-year-old fillies will go postward in the six-furlong affair. #12 Fashion Designer (3-1) is a full-sister to four-time Grade 1 winner Life is Good, as well as a half-sister to Grade 3 star Most Wanted, and she appears to be training well in advance of her unveiling. Tyler Gaffalione will be in the stirrups. 

#6 Elite (5-1) counts herself as a full-sister to 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic and has fired multiple bullets in the mornings in preparation for her debut offering. The Rodolphe Brisset charge will have Luan Machado in the silks. #9 Runs On Dreams (10-1), one of two in the group for Cherie DeVaux, is a full-sister to a precocious one who was a stakes-winning sprinter at two. #2 Cat Spring (8-1), also for DeVaux, is a half-sister to stakes winner Golden Afternoon, who was stakes placed as a two-year-old. 

I’m hoping that one of the well-bred fillies will take after their siblings in the middle leg. 

Race 5 – Optional Claiming

The boys will run 5 1/2 panels on the grass to close out the wager. #6 Bad Beat Brian (1-1) is the class of the race and will be especially tough on the massive class drop today. The Jack Milton gelding has hit the board in three of four lifetime tries on the course and could peak third time off the break, too. But the heavy choice only shows a pair of third-place finishes in his last nine endeavors, so I will include a few others looking for huge value. 

#7 Cane Creek Road (8-1), #9 Sir Pistolero (12-1), and #10 Mo Hair Sam (30-1) all have a bit of appeal to me.