Pick 3 of the Week: Laurel Park Saturday, Jan. 31

A pair of black-type races for three-year-olds are on the Saturday card at Laurel, and the co-features will both be included in the Pick 3 of the Week. 

Race 7 Wager

$2 Pick 3: 7,8 with 2,3,7 with 3,4,6 ($36)

Race 7 – Maiden Special Weight

The boys will travel one mile on the dirt to kick off the play, and I will use the pair of runners on the outside to start. #7 Twin Lakes showed improvement, stretching out last time for trainer Madison Meyers, and gets Lasix for his 2026 debut. Kevin Gomez retains the ride. 

Second timer #8 Grand Hall ran into a runaway victor in his unveiling and landed in a very winnable spot for Nihei. The $160,000 Ghostzapper colt inherits the services of Mychel Sanchez. 

Race 8 – Xtra Heat S. 

Seven sophomore fillies will speed six panels in the middle leg of the sequence. #7 Victory Music is my slight top pick in the well-matched field for Mike Maker. The Maclean’s Music filly was a solid third in the stakes ranks at Oaklawn last out, and I like that the homebred secured the outside post in the heat, as well. 

#3 Unfaithful Rose is going in the right direction in advance of her stakes debut and makes sense for conditioner Ethan West. The Vino Rosso filly gets Sanchez in the stirrups for her second start over the track. #2 Won Ton ran down a clear one late in her smart allowance tally on the course and will have Jevian Toledo signed on for the ride. 

Race 9 – Spectacular Bid S. 

An octet of three-year-olds will zip seven furlongs on the dirt to conclude the play. Conditioner Gary Capuano has been pushing a lot of the right buttons at the current meeting, and he will saddle a pair of colts in the test. #3 Awesome Andy has shown steady progression in his career and comes in off a sharp allowance score on the oval in his latest. Yedsit Hazelwood will guide the Spun to Run three-year-old.  

#4 Hollywood Import changed tactics in his wire-to-wire triumph in the Heft S. last time out, and if Sanchez sends him to the lead once again in a field without much pace, then the son of Honor A. P. will be dangerous at a fair number. 

I’ll also include Louis Lindner’s #6 Star Sweeper, who is cross-entered to the Withers S. at Aqueduct. The Rock Your World colt was a sharp winner at first asking on Pennsylvania Derby Day, and following a pair of unplaced stakes tries, the gray powered home to a nice allowance score at Parx most recently. He fits well with even a minor improvement off that score.