Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Aqueduct’s $22,381 Pick 6 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, May 9 at Churchill Downs, along with horses to play in the $22,381 Pick 6 carryover at Aqueduct.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• Churchill Downs 15% Across the Board Boost: Receive a 15% odds boost (up to $25 for the day) on any winning individual win, place, or show wager, or combination of win, place, and show wagers, on Friday at Churchill Downs.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $160 Churchill Downs Feeder to 5/18 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier
• $50 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $40 Evangeline Downs Challenge
• $200 Charles Town Feeder to 5/26 Churchill Downs BCBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Churchill Downs: Race 1: $20,000 Maiden Claiming (six furlongs on dirt, 12:45 p.m. ET)

#3 She’s No Angel (8-5) is shipping in from Southern California after recording top-three finishes in $50,000 and $40,000 maiden claiming sprints. She owns two of the best Brisnet Speed ratings in Friday’s field and should be tough to beat while dropping into a $20,000 maiden claimer.

Let’s single She’s No Angel to kick off a double wager, then bet her over #4 What’s Her Number (2-1) in a cold exacta.

Selections

• #3 She’s No Angel (8-5)
• #4 What’s Her Number (2-1)
• #5 Crank It Up (3-1)

Wagers

• $10 Double: 3 with 4
• $20 Exacta: 3 with 4
  Total: $30

Churchill Downs: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (five furlongs on dirt, 1:14 p.m. ET)

Trainer Adam Rice wins at a 25% rate with first-time starters, suggesting #4 Fistfulofmoney (15-1) is worth betting on debut.

Fistfulofmoney has put together eight timed workouts capped off by half a mile from the Keeneland starting gate in :49. This maiden special weight for horses who brought a final bid of $65,000 or less at their most recent auction hasn’t come up especially deep on paper, so Fistfulofmoney has every chance to upset fellow first-time starters #9 Happy Prince (3-1) and #7 Chalky White (7-2).

Selections

• #4 Fistfulofmoney (15-1)
• #9 Happy Prince (3-1)
• #7 Chalky White (7-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #4 Fistfulofmoney

Churchill Downs: Race 8: $125,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (1 1/16 miles on turf, 4:22 p.m. ET)

#7 Enterdadragon (3-1) never factored when trying dirt in the Florida Derby (G1) last time out, finishing last of 10 against a field including next-out Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Sovereignty. However, his turf form has been much stronger.

Indeed, Enterdadragon’s 7-1-1-1 record on turf includes a win in a $75,000 allowance optional claimer and a runner-up finish in the Colonel Liam S. Returning to turf, dropping in class, and adding Lasix should allow Enterdadragon to bounce back in a big way under hot jockey Luis Saez.

Let’s place a win bet on Enterdadragon.

Selections

• #7 Enterdadragon (3-1)
• #5 Tomasello (7-2)
• #1 McIlroy (4-1)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #7 Enterdadragon

Carryover Watch

Aqueduct: Race 4: $22,381 Pick 6 carryover (2:35 p.m. ET)

No one hit the $1 Pick 6 on Thursday at Aqueduct. Every favorite in the six-race sequence was defeated, triggering a $22,381 Pick 6 carryover into Friday’s card.

Friday’s Pick 6 looks more straightforward to solve. Three of the races figure to go off with seven or fewer starters, and two of them should be solvable using only one or two horses.

Race 4, the opening leg of the Pick 6, is one of the easier races. It’s a $100,000 allowance optional claimer for three-year-old fillies racing 1 1/16 miles on turf. Many bettors will lean on #2 Serendipity (9-5), who led all the way to win her debut in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park by 3 1/4 lengths.

However, we prefer the chances of #7 Lavender Disaster (2-1). The Chad Brown trainee debuted in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Aqueduct last year and closed nicely from midfield to score by three-quarters of a length over next-out winner Competitive Market.

Lavender Market could have been a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) had she fared well when making her second start in the Miss Grillo (G2) at Aqueduct. Unfortunately, just as Lavender Market was launching a serious challenge approaching the homestretch, a rival severely blew the turn and carried Lavender Market out to the middle of the course. She lost all chance and just cruised to the finish line in last place.

The good news is, Lavender Disaster has put together eight timed workouts in preparation for her return and is picking up Eclipse Award-winning jockey Flavien Prat. She has lots of upside and boasts a big chance to upset Serendipity in the opening leg of the Pick 6.

Later on the card, Race 7 offers a possible single in the form of #3 Chileno (2-1). Race 7 is a $50,000 allowance optional claimer taking place over 1 3/16 miles on dirt, and Chileno is a logical favorite to beat five rivals.

Chileno has been in hot form since being claimed by high-percentage trainer Brad Cox. In a one-mile $35,000 claimer at Aqueduct, Chileno tracked the pace before taking over to win by six lengths with a 95 Brisnet Speed rating. Then in a 1 1/8-mile $45,000 allowance optional claimer at Aqueduct, Chileno settled a couple lengths off the pace before staying on for second place behind a runaway winner, earning a 90 Brisnet Speed rating.

Chileno’s tactical speed is an asset in this small field. He can track #1 Certified Loverboy (5-2) and get first run turning for home. None of his Friday rivals have recently posted a Brisnet Speed rating as high as 95, so a peak performance from Chileno ought to send him to the winner’s circle.

Good luck!