Player Quick Pick for 2/17/2014

The fun part about this time of year is that we start figuring out who belongs in the Kentucky Derby picture. And - in order to get there - we get fantastic wagering opportunities like today's Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

This is a really interesting field of 12 horses (11 betting interests), so how would we play it?

1-Tanzanite Cat: speed is bred to stretch 1A-Paganol: steps up v. good foes off debut win for hot connections 2 - Tapiture: has done nothing wrong & finally put it together last out 3-Coastline: in off tough outside draw in the Smarty Jones 4-Louies Flower: taking the Will Take Charge route & has answered every call 5-Kendall's Boy: speed hung on last out 6-Walt: nice last work & has 1 bad (forgivable) race on his resume 7-Strong Mandate: has to prove 2 good Saratoga races weren't a fluke 8-Ride On Curlin: well-bred with win over the strip & doesn't need a clean trip 9-Son of Dixie: good efforts but hasn't quite put it together v. this caliber yet 10-Fire Starter: maiden win was freaky but trouble-prone Tapit has to settle 11-Bourbonize: can't get better than undefeated, but what has he beaten?

 

Strong Mandate is back off a solid third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a string of good works for D.Wayne Lukas. Coach is having a good meet in terms of hitting the board, even if his win percentage isn't stellar at 9%.